Milkshake

The milkshake — ice cream blended with milk until thick and creamy, served in a tall glass with a straw — is the American soda fountain's most enduring product and one of the few American foods that has been exported globally without significant modification. The electric blender (Hamilton Beach, 1911) made the modern milkshake possible; the soda fountain counter (drugstores, diners, and drive-ins) made it a cultural institution. The milkshake should be thick enough that the straw stands upright in the glass and thin enough that it can be drunk through that straw — the specific viscosity is the technique.

Ice cream (2-3 scoops — vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry are the classic three), milk (whole — skim produces a thin, icy shake), and optionally flavoured syrups (chocolate, strawberry, malt powder) blended until smooth and thick. Served in a tall glass, often with the overflow in the metal blender cup alongside. The consistency should be thick — spoonable but drinkable — and the flavour should be intensely ice-cream-forward.

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