How do YOU make a milk shake

[shel]

I made a chocolate milk shake today, and was disappointed with the result. It seemed to lack flavor - wasn't chocolatey enough. I used a good - not great - local ice cream (Dreyer's Triple Chocolate) and 2% milk, nothing else. I don't drink shakes very often - the last one was almost two years ago in San Francisco, made with Dreyers, and it was very good.

So, what suggestions have you for making a GREAT milk shake?

BTW, the shakes I had as a kid were SUPER! But then, almost everything we had as a kid was super

Shel

[DMT]

I scare it silly...

Oh.

First mistake is using low-fat stuff. Shakes ain't health food, they're comfort food.

Next, chocolate ice cream will not impart enough flavor on its own. The milk dilutes the flavor.

Try two or three scoops of vanilla ice cream in the mixer can, whole milk to cover the ice cream, add Hershey's (or any other preferred brand) chocolate syrup (amount will vary per personal taste), and mix away.

To make it even better, add a bit of malt powder, or an egg...

[shel]

Originally Posted by DMT

I scare it silly...

Oh.

First mistake is using low-fat stuff. Shakes ain't health food, they're comfort food.

Next, chocolate ice cream will not impart enough flavor on its own. The milk dilutes the flavor.

Try two or three scoops of vanilla ice cream in the mixer can, whole milk to cover the ice cream, add Hershey's (or any other preferred brand) chocolate syrup (amount will vary per personal taste), and mix away.

To make it even better, add a bit of malt powder, or an egg...

Will whole milk change the flavor, all else being equal?

I used a LOT of chocolate ice cream thinking that would make the shake rich and flavorful. Why use vanilla ice cream? What about chocolate with some chocolate syrup? Wouldn't that have a better, deeper chocolate flavor? Adding some syrup sounds like a good idea. Didn't think about dilution.

I don't like malts, never did, even as a kid, so malt is out.

Thanks for jumping in.

Shel

[DMT]

Originally Posted by shel

Will whole milk change the flavor, all else being equal?

I used a LOT of chocolate ice cream thinking that would make the shake rich and flavorful. Why use vanilla ice cream? What about chocolate with some chocolate syrup? Wouldn't that have a better, deeper chocolate flavor? Adding some syrup sounds like a good idea. Didn't think about dilution.

I don't like malts, never did, even as a kid, so malt is out.

Thanks for jumping in.

Shel

From my experience, the fat in the whole milk makes the shake "richer" in taste. Not necessarily changing the flavor (although I guess it does), but giving the shake more "body"?? (hard to quantify this one..)

Chocolate ice cream could be used, I suppose, but the base taste of the vanilla also adds another taste dimension.

Okay, scratch the malt...

Try it all(?) different ways (2% - whole milk + vanilla - chocolate ice cream), and let us know what you find.

[shel]

Originally Posted by DMT

From my experience, the fat in the whole milk makes the shake "richer" in taste. Not necessarily changing the flavor (although I guess it does), but giving the shake more "body"?? (hard to quantify this one..)

Chocolate ice cream could be used, I suppose, but the base taste of the vanilla also adds another taste dimension.

I know what you mean about making the shake richer and giving it more body.

Interesting thought about the vanilla adding an additional dimension to the taste. Thanks - I'd never have thought of that. I suppose another approach might be to add some vanilla extract to the chocolate ice cream and milk, maybe even use chocolate milk ... thinking aloud here

Shel

[Mezzaluna]

Any Wisconsinite will advise you that if you want a really rich shake you have to start with frozen custard rather than ice cream. Frozen custard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not much more than frozen custard and some flavor in them, though. If I were in a position to be enjoying chocolate shakes I'd use fudge sauce rather than syrup....

[Pete]

Even for chocolate shakes I usually start with vanilla ice cream, though occasionally I will use choc. I just like the flavor the vanilla ice cream imparts, though I guess you could use chocolate and add a splash of vanilla extract. Whether you use chocolate or vanilla ice cream you need lots of chocolate sauce. Add as much as you think you need, then add more. Taste the final product and then add more because you will probably need it.

[ChefRAZ]

Chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, half & half and malted milk powder we make these." hersheys "chocolate is the syrup we use.

[Ninja_59]

I add 1 egg to my milk shakes

[bozzy]

What about fruit? I like to throw some strawberries and bananas into the blender along with everything else (i.e. the milk and ice cream).

It's like a liquid banana split

[idaku]

I like chocolate mocha milk shake. Blend chocolate syrup or cadbury chocolate drinks mix with 1 tsp instant coffee powder, cold milk, sugar(optional) and some fruits such as banana, peach, strawberry. Mmmmm ..................yummy!
Resepi RR Recipe : For those who loves cooking...

[brreynolds]

Shel, the great ice cream parlors of my youth would always use some chocolate syrup in a chocolate shake. I don't think chocolate ice cream would give you enough chocolate flavor. The other posters had great ideas for enhancing the basic concept, but since you asked about the basic flavor, I'd suggest you look for a good chocolate syrup, and try adding that to your existing recipe first.

[tessa]

good chocolate syrup , vanilla icecream , some vanilla extract, milk , some ice throw in to your blender and wooohooo great milk shake
if you have some bananas that have gone a bit squishy throw them in the freezer and then when you want a great smoothy /milkshake they are just wonderful
being frozen gives them a texture which makes the milk shake nice and thick
a great smoothie idea which is perfect for a meal on the run is to put 1 frozen banana , 1 cup milk 1/2 cup of yoghurt in to blender and whhooosssh up till mixed well , you can also add frozen berries, or chunks of pineapple, or melon , or papaya or fresh berries , and a splash of vanilla extract or coconut extract for a bit more ooomph

[shel]

Originally Posted by brreynolds

Shel, the great ice cream parlors of my youth would always use some chocolate syrup in a chocolate shake. I don't think chocolate ice cream would give you enough chocolate flavor.

After experimenting a bit, I finally got a shake the way I like it.

First I moved up to three large scoops of a locally produced super-premium, organic chocolate ice cream, added a small scoop (about two tablespoons) of a equally good vanilla ice cream, some cold milk of course, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla seeds, and about a scant tablespoon of very good quality chocolate sauce.

The results were just about perfect. Perhaps a scosh too sweet for my palate, so next time I may try it without the chocolate sauce. The shake seemed pretty rich and chocolatey that it may be just fine without the sauce. If needed, it can always be added and blended in afterwards.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

Shel

[chefant]

i love milk shakes