Posts Tagged With: Milkshake

255/365: National Chocolate Milkshake Day

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Mark Petruska

If you’re cuckoo for frozen cocoa, today is really going to tickle your fancy. September 12 is National Chocolate Milkshake Day!

National Chocolate Milkshake DayWe’ve already paid homage to the vanilla milkshake and coffee milkshake, so by now you should be familiar with the history of this frozen treat. If not, click on either of the links and immerse yourself in the world of Walgreen’s employee Ivar Coulson. One thing I did not mention previously: milkshakes got their name because they were originally served in bars. If the customer liked the milkshake, he shook hands with the bartender; if not, he skipped out without leaving a tip. Fun and random fact: it would take 3.2 million average-sized milkshakes to fill an Olympic-sized pool. How fun would that be to swim in? Feel like making your own chocolate milkshake? Here’s an easy and fun recipe from Hershey’s. The term “I drink your milkshake” became a pop culture catchphrase after the film There Will Be Blood was released in 2007.

There’s not a lot else to discuss today, so let’s get down to business. Tara and I stopped by McDonald’s for chocolate shakes. I’m partial to vanilla myself, but it’s hard to complain about a frosty cold shake on a warm summer afternoon!

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207/365: National Coffee Milkshake Day

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Mark Petruska

Today we’re going to shake things up a bit. And no, that’s not the caffeine talking. July 26 is National Coffee Milkshake Day!

National Coffee Milkshake DayThe deeper into our food challenge we get, the fewer new topics there are to write about. Today is no exception. I’ve already  discussed the history of the milkshake. Take one of those, add coffee, and you’ve got a coffee milkshake. Right? Pretty much! Some variations, particularly in New England, call for coffee syrup. Others call for chocolate syrup. At its most basic, a coffee milkshake consists of vanilla ice cream and coffee, blended together. Hey, speaking of, that’s something I can talk about: the history of the blender! This kitchen appliance was the creation of Stephen J. Poplawski, who owned Stevens Electric Company. In 1922, he patented his drink mixer, which had been invented to help mix together malted milkshakes and other frozen treats. In the 1930s, L. Hamilton, Chester Beach, and Fred Osius began selling Poplawski’s blender through their business, the Hamilton Beach Company. Former musician Fred Waring came up with his own version of the blender (he spelled it blendor) in 1937, and his Waring Products company went on to popularize the smoothie in the 1940s. In 1946 Fred Oster, who owned the Oster Barber Equipment Compnay, bought Stevens Electric Company and designed a new version of the blender, called the Osterizer. Blenders have remained a popular kitchen implement thanks to the need for cocktails, Frappucinos, smoothies, and other frozen drinks.

There you go! That was something interesting and different.

When I think of coffee milkshakes, my mind automatically goes to Arby’s, whose signature beverage is a coffee and chocolate milkshake called the Jamocha Shake. So that’s where we went physically. To Arby’s, where we shared a Jamocha Shake. It perfectly hit the spot.

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171/365: National Vanilla Milkshake Day

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Mark Petruska

Those susceptible to brain freezes beware: June 20 is National Vanilla Milkshake Day!

The term “milkshake” has been around since the 1800s, though it originally referred to an entirely different drink altogether. It first appeared in print in 1885 and was described as a”sturdy, healthful eggnog type of drink, with eggs, whiskey, etc., served as a tonic as well as a treat.” I don’t know if your liver would necessarily agree about the “healthful” part, but whatever. By 1900 the alcohol had disappeared, and milkshakes were made with vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry syrups. It wasn’t until 1922 when the milkshake as we know it and love it was invented; a Walgreens employee named Ivar “Pop” Coulson added two scoops of ice cream to a malted milk (milk, chocolate, and malt powder) and, voila! A new creation was born. By the 1930s milkshakes were popular across the nation, and the invention of freon-cooled refrigerators during that decade provided a safe and reliable method of making and dispensing ice cream. Fancy stainless steel automatic milkshake mixing machines soon followed, and in the 1950s Ray Kroc bought exclusive rights to one of these automated milkshake makers to speed up production in his fledgling new chain of fast-food restaurants called McDonald’s. These machines folded air into the drinks, making them smooth and fluffy. Like a koala bear. Milkshakes have remained popular over the years, evoking nostalgia for a bygone era. They are an especially profitable source of revenue for restaurants since the fluffy drinks contain so much air; one market research study showed that 75% of the cost of an average milkshake is pure profit. Almost makes me want to not order a milkshake just out of spite, but come on…how could I do that? Milkshakes are delicious!

To celebrate, we stopped at McDonald’s. After all, it was Ray Kroc’s foresight that helped milkshakes become as widely popular and readily available as they are now.

National Vanilla Milkshake Day

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Categories: Dairy, Desserts | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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