Milkshakes: should they come with whipped cream on top or not?
I am a traditionalist and feel a milkshake should be just that, a milkshake. Lately when I've ordered milkshakes out at burger joints, they've had whipped cream on top. Is this a trend? Or is this common?
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18 Comments
12:47PM on 01/09/07
I'm not a fan. Whipped cream adds no flavor but tons of extra mess. And you have to eat through it before you can get to the real heart of the shake.
The real question is Milkshakes: should they be malted or not? And the answer is YES. ALWAYS. So disappointed that New York City has such a dearth of places that do malts. Fie.
1:18PM on 01/09/07
Whipped cream on a milkshake is like Carrot Top performing the lead in Romeo and Juliet. It's completely uncalled for and people should boycott the practice.
2:47PM on 01/09/07
Ok, I'll play the contrarian. I think whipped cream is just fine on a milkshake.
Why? It gives you a less flavorful starting off point that makes the rest of the milkshake taste that much more rich once you're past the whipped cream. :)
2:55PM on 01/09/07
Sadly "the malted" used to be norm. Milkshakes were something only people from very clean places west of the Hudson drank (but that was before the big-boxification of the city).
As for whipped cream on milkshakes -- blech. The only palatable thing about those commercial canned products is the scant amount of nitrous oxide they produce.
2:59PM on 01/09/07
Ok, good, I'm glad to see I'm not in the minority on this one. What really irked me about the last time this happened was that it wasn't even whipped cream on top, it took up half the glass the shake came in! It was a mega rip-off.
4:18PM on 01/09/07
Try Veselka for a vanilla milkshake. They pour it and give you the remainder in the stainless mixing tumbler (another dying tradition, alas). They might be the best burger/milkshake combo in Manhattan. If not, it's the best bargain, I bet.
I imagine they have malted milk powder too.
10:51PM on 01/09/07
I worked for a very famous deli & cake company here in NYC and we served all of our milkshakes with whipped cream and a burgundy (not maraschino) cherry). just my 2 cents on the topic.
9:21AM on 01/10/07
Granted, I don't order milkshakes often, but I've never seen whipped cream on one and would be disappointed if it were there--it's not a sundae, it's a milkshake. Doesn't Island Burger do malteds?
9:33AM on 01/10/07
I usually see whipped cream, don't mind it. Why? If you get a good milkshake, there is sometimes a lump of ice cream in it. if you don't eat the whipped cream at first, you can save it to mix with the lump and actually finish the whole thing using the straw.
12:35PM on 01/10/07
I've never been served a milkshake with whipped cream either. If anything I imagine its more of a garnish than an actual flavor enhancer.
3:13PM on 01/10/07
I think it's a trend - they do it out here in California, and you have to tell them not to do it. A great milkshake would be made with an excellent, butterfatty ice cream, and would not need an extra bit of fat and sugar on top. In fact, the chemical taste of aerosol whipped cream would dilute the flavor, plus it'd be messy to boot. Milkshakes are hard enough to get as chocolatey flavored as I like when I order them.
9:28PM on 01/10/07
Milkshakes don't need whipped cream. But I have noticed an increase in restaurants offering it with whipped cream, but I just attributed it to the influence of the Starbucks Mocha Frappaccino.
11:12PM on 01/10/07
i prefer without whipped cream. i think it's just used as visual filler, to fool you into thinking there is more than you paid for.
8:24AM on 01/11/07
horrific.
like a double dessert.
junior's serves egg creams with whipped cream.
shudder.
1:53PM on 01/12/07
I think it's completely unnecessary... the milkshake should just stand alone.
3:36PM on 01/12/07
I agree with yi - I think it is a starbucks thing. People are so used to getting every single drink covered in whipped cream - they probably started complaining to the milkshake restaurants.
11:09PM on 01/12/07
I vote with the no-whipped cream folks; I have worked at many soda fountains over the years, beginning as a car hop at an A&W Root Beer Stand in the 60s, and wherever we made real milk shakes, i.e. with ice cream, milk, a stainless steel beaker, etc. we never put whipped cream on top.
11:21PM on 01/18/07
I guess I'm lucky. The place from which I get my milkshakes( however rare they are), come with the stainless steel beaker and everything. The downside is that, living in California, my milkshake has been tainted by what we can now safely call the "Starbucks effect," in that it has whipped cream where whipped cream should not be. My final opinion: I won't flip out or boycott whipped cream, but if they ask, I'll be grateful to be given the opportunity to say "no".
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