Nothing can bring back the salty, sandy, sunny feel of my Sixties childhood holidays at the seaside like the taste of ...... lime milkshake!
Yes, lime milkshake was the very essence of a great time on our classic British staycations back in the swinging decade. You could get milkshakes everywhere. Beach cafes, high street cafes, corner cafes and even milk bars dedicated to ... milk.
I know chocolate milkshake was pretty damn fine and banana rocked but lime, lime was just special. The green colour was pale enough to make it look good - an acceptable green, a palatable green - and the taste, my word. Citrusy, a slight tang, the only word for it would be lime. Lime connoisseurs might detect hot orchards, billowing Tuareg tents and the breath of the Nile but I get sand, sea and sunshine in Burnham on Sea!
The good news, no, great news, is that lime milkshake is back!
Crusha, that wonderful milky company, have kindly re-issued it and my daughter got me a bottle for Fathers Day. I've been gurgling the stuff ever since! I've even tried it with ice but haven't yet topped it off with vanilla ice cream as I want the unadulterated taste of limes for now. Garnish comes later.
Lime isn't univerally popular though. I tried a straw poll and gave a friend some this week ... with a straw. Nope, the faced curled up as if she'd eaten a raw lemon and the drink went largely unfinished. It was difficult for me pouring a tall glass of green milk down the drain I can tell you!
But for me lime is King and Queen of milkshakes, the one to ask for whichever cafe you end up in and the one that brings back the memories of marvellous childhood seaside places I've never been back to: Clevelelys, Heysham Head, Great Yarmouth, Ilfracombe, Abersoch and Burnham on Sea.
The sun is out so I think I'll have a glass-full now!
Do you like lime milkshake? Do you have a nostalgic drink?
I used to LOVE milkshakes.
ReplyDeleteI would have them in preference to any other drink in a cafe, as a kid.
My fave was strawberry, but I do remember lime, and I liked that too.
Milkshakes, or milk drinks, today are quite different. They're too thick and glutinous, somehow, not milky and bubbly, like they used to be.
I don't really drink them much now.
Mish.
PS "Drinka pinta milka day !"
I drink milkshakes at home very simply Mish, milk and syrup mixed. Its very thin. I know what you mean about milshakes from vendors like McDonalds etc. they're triple thick and full of ice cream. I did enjoy those ice cream milkshakes in cafes as a kid, especially vanilla! Get some Crusha Mish!
DeleteReading this post, I think the term Milk Shake must mean different things in Britain and New Zealand. You seem to be talking about a simple mix of milk and lime flavouring. To me, a Milk Shake (or Milkshake) is a mix of ice cream (usually vanilla), milk, and flavouring, mixed together by a milk shake machine. In the 1960s and 1970s these would be poured into a large metal cup, clipped in to a machine with a long mixing attachment that descended into the mix, and switched on for several seconds - usually pretty noisy. But it was a sound that promised a frothy treat to come. The milk shake was then usually poured out into a waxed cardboard cup, and sipped with a straw. Commercial machines usually had several mixing stations, so a number of milk shakes could be prepared at once. I have used one of these machines (I think ours had three or four stations) as I worked in a lunch bar for a time in the 1980s.
ReplyDeleteToday you can buy single milk shake makers for use at home, or just use a blender/food processor. Milk shake syrups are available in a range of flavours from the supermarket. Not many places still make milk shakes, and the range of flavours is usually pretty limited. Which is a pity. Powered flavourings are also available for making simple flavoured milk, which is what you seem to be describing ?
My favourite flavours were lime, banana, strawberry, and caramel. Oddly, I never cared for chocolate (or chocolate ice cream), although I loved actual chocolate.
Your right Paul.
ReplyDeleteUK milk shakes did not have icecream in, however they were mixed using a special airating machine, not unlike the frothers for coffee machines.
As a result, they were more of a thirst quenching drink and less of a 'smoothy'.
Mish.
I know a place that makes fresh strawberry, peach and blueberry milkshakes using fresh local produce.They can only be half finished with a straw because they are so thick. You need a spoon for the rest.I always liked a chocolate shake with malt powder added.Vanilla is also good when malted.
ReplyDeleteWhat's malt powder Brian?
DeleteIts a mixture of barley and wheat powder that is supposed to be good for your health.All I know is it makes chocolate shakes taste better.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian. Sounds interesting. As an aside, when I was in NJ our host, an old friend, mixed vanilla cream powder into our coffees. It was totally delicious. Something you can't get it in Blighty.
DeleteSounds good.I am not a fan of coffee's bitter taste,so I'm always looking for a way to sweeten it up
DeleteMalt powder is sort of what we call Horlicks Woodsy.
ReplyDeleteMish.
Thanks Mish. I like Horlicks. My daughter's just got us a jar of Ovaltine, which is nice too. Is that malt too?
DeleteYes,Ovaltine is malted.I wanted to mention it earlier,but I didn't know if you have ever heard of it.Try stirring some into a vanilla or chocolate shake and see how you like it!
Deletehad a cup of hot Ovaltine milky drink tonight Bri. Quite delicious!
DeleteI'll stick with lager and lime Top Deck thanks ;+)
ReplyDeleteFenton
Is Top Deck a brand Fenton?
DeleteNow I think about it, my nostalgic drink is Tree Top squash !
ReplyDeleteRemember that ?
Mish.
Hmmm, Tree Tops. Yes I do Mish, Just. It was a cordial wasn't it?
DeleteThanks for all the extra information. It is obvious that many terms do not only have different meanings in Britain and America, but in other parts of the British Commonwealth as well. Very confusing. Here it is Milk Shakes without ice cream. To me a Milk Shake without ice cream would just be flavoured milk, even if it is a frothy version.
ReplyDeleteI suppose your right Paul with the term flavoured milk. That works here too and the main brand for these flavourings is Crusha I would say. Your ice cream shakes made with a proper metal blender reminds me of old cafeterias. When I was a kid I adored an Italian cafe called Bruccianis in Preston where I grew up. A fabulously old fashioned place with mirrors and a huge counter. I always ordered a Vimto with ice cream and a ham finger bun. Happy days!
Delete