What do you need to know:
- Gulf News is going on an ice cream trail this Ramadan.
- Our 24th pick of the month is the ice cream milkshake.
- Be prepared for our list of 29 ice creams for 29 days.
- End your fast and enjoy the Summer months with these sweet and cold treats.
Milkshakes have been around for many years. The cold sweet beverage is a concoction that will quench your thirst on a warm afternoon, but will also satisfy your craving for something sweet. We give you our 24th pick of the month...
#24 Ice cream milkshake
History
The cold drink is made from milk, ice cream and can be drizzled with sweet syrup. While the term “milkshake” was first used in print in 1885 for a drink made with eggnog, by the early 1900, the term was used to refer to the sweet drinks we know today.
According to a report in the UK-based newspaper The Guardian: “Milkshakes were made with flavoured syrup, and around 20 years later someone thought of adding Horlicks powder to it to make the first ‘malted milk’, one of the gastronomic epiphanies of modern times.”
The ice-cream-based milkshakes became easier to make after the electric mixer appeared in 1922. By the 1950s, milkshakes were popular in the US and were found in almost all restaurants serving American food.
Jessica Booth of American magazine redbookmag.com said that milkshakes are popularly served at burger joints and diners in the US. She said: “Burgers and shakes are basically an American staple at this point, and they almost always go hand-in-hand.”
While the milkshake has been around for many years, it has become more popular in recent times because of pop culture. With more television shows – like Netflix’s Riverdale and Stranger Things – being set in the 1980s and 1990s, the classic milkshake has made multiple appearances on the big screen, and has managed to retain its edge over the decades. However, with time, the flavours have evolved and so has the presentation.
People respond
We spoke to people in the UAE to see if the classic milkshake holds a place in their heart, and everyone answered with: “Yes!”
Dubai pupil Nayna Chatterjee loves everything to do with ice cream. The 10-year-old said: “I like shakes a lot because it is a perfect mixture of a drink and really yummy food. Putting ice cream in it brings a lot of flavour to the drink. It is very sweet and nice to taste. My favourite flavour is chocolate.”
American tourist Nancy L. was busy having a Lotus milkshake when she was approached for this interview. The 23-year-old said: “When I take a sip of a milkshake, I just want to keep drinking it.
“I would go with my mother to get milkshakes together. It is a special memory for me. When my mother would drop my siblings off for sports activities, we would go get a milkshake together.”
Computer engineer, Suad Ajmal had a chocolate chiller ice cream shake when she was 16 years old at Global Village.
She said: “I still remember it so vividly, the hot chocolate fudge at the bottom of the glass with a long spoon to scoop out the gooey goodness – was delicious. Over the years, many other popular brands began releasing their version of an ice cream shake. The ice cream shake teleports me back to when I was little.”
The 23-year-old added that it was an easy beverage to make at home.
“You just have to blend some ice-cream and milk, and behold – it’s done. But oh well, anything with ice cream works.”
Mexican tourist Angelica Nevarez finds the milkshakes available in the UAE less creamy than those available in the US.
The 25-year-old manager said: “They taste different. It is less think in texture. There is more ice cream in the ones in the US.”
She is fond of a specific kind of mango mexican milkshake, which is popular in her home country. “It is mango ice cream, topped with mangoes and chili.”
Where can you get it?
In the UAE, many restaurants serve the classic ice cream milkshake. They have a unique blend of flavours as well as toppings, to cater to the social media-influenced society we live in.
At Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant in Dubai, customers can order a variety of ice cream shake flavours including salted caramel coffee, chocolate, banana and more.
According to Richard Fairall, the person in charge at the restaurant, the ice creams are made in-house.
“We use sugar, milk, whipping cream and vanilla essence. We put it in our mixer and make the ice cream. For the salted caramel milkshake (Dh28), we take our ice cream, add milk so that it becomes easy to blend.”
A salted caramel sauce is added when the ice cream is blended and that is made in the store as well. It is a combination of sugar, butter, cream and vanilla essence.
“When we make the milkshake, nothing is bought, everything used is in-house and organic. We make a batch of 25 litres of ice cream at a time.”
If you are fond of the flavour of saffron, you can indulge in a saffron milkshake. At Gran Caffe Dubai, customers can pick a variety of flavours of gelato ice cream available in the store and made in-house.
According to a server at the Caffe, “the gelato is prepared in our kitchen and they last for seven days”. Flavours include pistachio, caramel, rose, coffee and more. The simple beverage is mixed with milk, blended and served in a mason jar.
Lotus is a popular flavour in the UAE and is incorporated in most desserts in the country. The Lotus milkshake (Dh30) at The Inventing Room Dubai uses the Lotus biscuit in its creation.
Head chef Amin Tarmidzi said: “The ice creams are prepared fresh, in store, and are frozen with the help of liquid nitrogen. For the Lotus milkshake, we add our milk base, Lotus biscuit and Lotus spread for flavour. Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze the combination, which is mixed by hand, not a machine.”
Customers can choose their toppings for their milkshake. When we went to try this dessert, they added marshmallow fluff to the rim of the cup, which was then roasted using a blowtorch.
Tarmidzi added: “We want people to come here and remember their childhood memories. We try and deliver what the customer wants.”
Most ice cream shops and dessert parlours in the UAE serve milkshakes or ice cream shakes.
Cold Stone Creamery also serves ice cream shake in addition to their ice creams. According to their website, Cold Stone blends their ice cream with milk, and the customer’s choice of “tempting mix-ins to create rich, thick and creamy, one-of-a-kind shakes”.
If you are looking for something Instagram friendly, Black Tap Dubai has their own ‘Crazy Shakes’ (Dh69) concept. The ice cream shakes are topped with pieces of cake, cotton candy, cookies and more. They have a range of flavours including cotton candy, cake and black cherry.
Information:
Where: Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant, City Walk Dubai; Gran Caffe Dubai, City Walk, Dubai; Cold Stone Creamery, have outlets all around the UAE; Black Tap Dubai, JBR and Jumeirah Al Naseem.
Availability: Other places to try a milkshake are: Tom&Serg, Shakeism, Ice Lab.
Are you a fan of the ice cream shake? Tell us your experience at readers@gulfnews.com.
