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You do realize that McD's/Burger King isn't even selling you ice cream right?
This is true. That's why they are called "shakes" and not "milkshakes". Also why Dairy Queen is selling "dairy desserts" and not "ice cream". Corn syrup laden, artificially flavored, gloppy. air filled frozen conglomerations.
Best way to have a really good MILKSHAKE is to make it at home yourself, or as someone else mentioned, purchase your milkshake where they carry a variety of real, hand-dipped ice cream. Hard to find these days, unfortunately.
It's fairly new - they make the shakes as part of the "McCafe" stuff, where they have fancy coffees that supposedly compete with Starbucks (I don't drink any coffee so I have no idea if they do or don't). Before that, they had the separate machines that used the pre-made "shake mix" and just dispensed it directly into the cup. Kind of like a Slurpee machine but for shakes.
I haven't actually tried one of the new shakes, but I have seen them made when I've happened to be in a McDonald's, with the froufrou whipped cream on the top which I personally find unappealing. Who wants whipped cream on a milk shake??
You can ask them to leave it off, half the time they do leave it off anyway.
Carvel, Friendly's or a good old fashioned Ice cream parlor that makes homemade Ice cream. All of the fast food chains that sell shakes are fake, full of crud and preservatives and not real Ice cream. Better to make your own at home with real chocolate ice cream.
Or even better, I used to make it with Nestle Quick chocolate milk powder. (BEST ever)
But I've NEVER liked regular chocolate ice cream. Are they not able to make a "chocolate" ice cream like the kind you have to mix yourself? I wonder if just adding a little vanilla to the regular chocolate would make it taste less bitter.
Or even better, I used to make it with Nestle Quick chocolate milk powder. (BEST ever)
But I've NEVER liked regular chocolate ice cream. Are they not able to make a "chocolate" ice cream like the kind you have to mix yourself? I wonder if just adding a little vanilla to the regular chocolate would make it taste less bitter.
I am also one of those who does not like chocolate ice cream of any kind. But, I do love chocolate toppings on vanilla ice cream or chocolate swirled within. My fav "was" (hardly ever eat IC anymore) sprinkling Ovaltine chocolate (or malt) powder on vanilla ice cream. YUM!
OK, now I’m starting to second guess myself. What I’ve described previously is how it’s been done for a long time, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a shake at McDonalds. I’ll go tomorrow and report back.
As promised I went to McD today and ordered a large chocolate shake. I was also able to spend about 10 minutes with the store manager who very graciously answered my questions. This is what I found out:
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
Actually, I looked at the websites to check on that when I read this thread. McDonald's doesn't use the shake mix anymore. They start with vanilla soft serve and make a shake out of that. So does Burger King. I think Wendy's may still use separate mixes for their chocolate and vanilla Frostys, but those were always a little bit different than a shake.
The highlight above is not correct. When I ordered my shake today, the employee took a cup to the shake machine, pulled a lever, and filled the cup with chocolate shake - there was no soft serve used in the preparation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
If you want a custom made shake, you need to go someplace that stocks ice cream in multiple flavors. Fast food restaurants don't do that, they just have vanilla soft serve and that is the base for what they make. McDonald's, Burger King, Sonic, etc. all start with vanilla soft serve.
McDonalds doesn’t.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TaxPhd
I don't know about the others, but McDonalds shakes don't start with vanilla soft serve, and they haven't for more than 30 years.
The above is absolutely, 100% true and correct, confirmed by a McD manager today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TaxPhd
McDonalds is prevaricating. They don't use soft serve in their shakes. They use a "base" that may be the same thing (or fundamentally the same thing), but they are not taking actual soft serve, and then creating shakes from it.
The above is absolutely, 100% true and correct, confirmed by a McD manager today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
Well, you'd better contact them right away to tell them that you are right and they are wrong.
But yes, as a matter of fact, they do use actual soft serve and then add flavored syrups to make shakes. This is a fairly recent thing, before that they did use a shake base and machines that dispensed pre-made chocolate and vanilla shakes.
No, they don’t use soft serve, and yes, they use a shake machine that dispenses the shakes, with NO soft serve.
But wait! You’ll say, how can they claim to use soft serve when they really don’t?
If I cracked 4 eggs in a bowl, handed it to you, and told you it was an omelette, you'd look at me like I was an idiot, and I would justifiably be on the receiving end of every bit of ridicule that you’d heap upon me. But this is what McD’s is doing when they claim that they use soft serve in their shakes. They use the exact same shake/soft serve mix in both shakes and their soft serve (confirmed today with McD manager). But the mix is frozen to different levels. For soft serve, the mix is “completely” frozen to the consistency that we all know as soft serve. For shakes, the same mix is frozen to a lesser consistency, that we equate with a milkshake. Their shakes are drinkable through a straw, their soft serve isn’t. So, when McD’s claims their shakes have soft serve in them, they’re prevaricating. They start with the same ingredient. But remember, this claim is equivalent to claiming that a bowl with raw eggs in it is an omelette, just because the ingredients are the same.
Hint: It’s not the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthofHere
McDonald's and the like use syrup and then add the soft serve ice cream and then put it in the mixer (I have watched them doing it). What most serve as chocolate shakes or any kind of shake are really a smoothie. A true chocolate shake is made with milk, ice cream (vanilla or chocolate) and syrup. Blended for 2 seconds and served. It is more of a drink and not so thick you can't suck it from a straw.
If you in fact saw the above at McD’s, they weren’t making a shake, they were making a McFlurry. McD’s version of the Blizzard. McFlurrys start with soft serve, shakes don’t.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TaxPhd
Does McDonalds take soft serve, add milk and flavoring, and blend it into a shake? No. Do they even add milk to their shakes? No.
The above is correct.
Quote:
If you take soft serve, and add flavoring (but no milk), do you get a shake? No. You get flavored soft serve.
At Mcd’s, this is a McFlurry.
Quote:
McDonalds is prevaricating. They don’t take soft serve and turn it into a shake. The only milk in their shakes is as a component ingredient of the soft serve/shake base that they use. While there is soft serve base in their shakes, there is no “completed” soft serve (actually frozen to the consistency where it could be served as soft serve).
My previous statement above is 100% correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
Again, false. They use the same "completed" soft serve that they dispense into a vanilla cone, put it in a container, add syrup and use a shake mixer. I didn't say they added milk, or that they make a traditional "milk shake." But they no longer use the kind of shake base that you are talking about.
ETA:
I didn't see this when I posted
Yes, they've changed things up, as described in other posts above. The ironic thing is that if you go and get a shake there tomorrow, you'll be one up on me. I've seen them made, but I haven't tried one myself.
Not false. However, your claim that “They use the same "completed" soft serve that they dispense into a vanilla cone, put it in a container, add syrup and use a shake mixer” IS totally false. Confirmed by my purchase today, and corroborated by McD manager. If you saw this, they were making a McFlurry, not a shake. And McFlurrys don’t have syrup.
So, long story short, how does McD’s make shakes? They put shake/soft serve mix in a shake machine, and finished shakes are dispensed with the pull of a lever. No actual soft serve is used in the making of McD’s shakes, but shake/soft serve mix IS used.
It's fairly new - they make the shakes as part of the "McCafe" stuff, where they have fancy coffees that supposedly compete with Starbucks (I don't drink any coffee so I have no idea if they do or don't). Before that, they had the separate machines that used the pre-made "shake mix" and just dispensed it directly into the cup. Kind of like a Slurpee machine but for shakes.
They still do this. Go to a McD’s and confirm for yourself.
Quote:
I haven't actually tried one of the new shakes, but I have seen them made when I've happened to be in a McDonald's, with the froufrou whipped cream on the top which I personally find unappealing. Who wants whipped cream on a milk shake??
If you saw something mixed in a blender, it absolutely WAS NOT a shake, but instead was a McFlurry. ALL shakes are dispensed from the shake machine, and there is no blending in a mixer for shakes.
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