Ried - Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes

THOROUGHLY MODERN

MILKSHAKES

Adam Ried

Photographs by Andr Baranowski

W. W. NORTON & COMPANY NEW YORK LONDON

In memory of my mother and father, Nol and Hal Ried.

As the editor in charge of kitchen equipment testing at Cooks Illustrated magazine for ten years, and in my ongoing role as the kitchen equipment specialist on the PBS shows Americas Test Kitchen and Cooks Country from Americas Test Kitchen, I have logged some serious hours testing and evaluating just about every small kitchen appliance, piece of cookware, and utensil you can think of. With that kind of background, there is no way I could stay mum about the hardware youll need to make a great milkshake, so here are a few observations.

Blenders

I researched and tested blenders at Cooks Illustrated and Americas Test Kitchen, and developing the recipes in this book was a terrific refresher course. I used eight different blenders from five manufacturers, as well as three drink mixers like the ones you see cranking out the shakes at ice cream parlors. While I would be hard-pressed to name the blender of your dreams without first performing a full battery of comprehensive tests on a wide range of models, I can certainly offer a laundry list of desirable design features to keep in mind the next time you go blender shopping.

First, the jar, which some people call the carafe. The shape of the jar is important to the blenders performance. I strongly prefer tall jars that are wide at the top and have angled sides that taper to a narrow bottom. A small base means that the food cant go far; it increases contact between the contents of the blender and the spinning blades, which increases efficiency. By comparison, the excess space at the base of a wide blender jar (or the workbowl of a food processor) allows the ingredients to spread more laterally, which is a little less efficient. A narrow base also helps force the ingredients upward in the jar, allowing the spinning blades to create a vortex that helps incorporate air for smoother texture.

Ideally, the interior surface of the jar walls will have some type of built-in undulation or irregularity, as opposed to being completely smooth. This might take the form of small protrusions called flutes, inward-facing indentations molded right into the glass, or the shape of the jar itself might be uneven. The purpose of the irregularity is to interrupt the vortex inside the jar, thereby forcing the contents downward onto the blades. Again, its all about increased contact between the food and the blades.

In terms of materials, go for glass if you have the option. Its heavier than plastic, which is the other popular material for blender jars, and therefore more stable in the blender base. Glass also resists scratching better than plastic. Last, glass is transparent, so you can see inside while youre blending, which is helpful. I dislike the stainless steel jars that come with some blender models because they are opaque.

In my mind, the larger the capacity of the jar, the better. Shoot for a 40-ounce minimum. Also, I prefer jars with removable bases and blade assemblies for their ease of cleaning. As an aside, regardless of whether the base is sealed or removable, a great way to clean a blender jar is to fill it about halfway with warm water, add a couple of drops of liquid dish detergent, and let er rip at high speed for about twenty seconds. Most of the food residue will pour right out with the soapy water. Give the jar a rinse or a light cleaning, and youre good to go.

No matter how large the blender jar, or what shape it is, dont fill it up more than about two-thirds to the top (many experts suggest no more than halfway to the top) because you have to leave space for the contents to move upward. This is especially critical if you are blending something hot.

That brings us to the lid. I suggest holding the lid in place whenever the blender is running (and using a kitchen towel or pot holder to do so whenever the contents of the blender are hot). Better to stand by the blender for half a minute while you blend than spend an hour cleaning milkshake off the ceilings, walls, windows, cabinets, counters, and floors. Trust meI speak from experience. And I was making chicken liver mousse, not milkshakes. The tiny kitchen was covered with pureed liver. It was not pretty.

One more thingthe blades. Blender blades are generally set at several angles, so they cut on multiple planes at once (as opposed to food processor blades, which are usually set at a single angle). In my testing I have never identified a particular blade design as being responsible for more or less effective blending, but as a minor point, I can imagine that the more angles, the better.

Now on to the blender base, which houses the motor and controls. I wouldnt worry too much about the power rating of the motor, usually expressed in watts. Manufacturers often make a big deal out of the wattage, but as I understand it, watts really measure the amount of power the motor draws from the outlet, not the amount of power it generates. The efficiency with which the motor operateshow it transforms the power it draws into outputdepends largely on the motors design. Really, I think the design of the jar is more important to performance than the wattage.

Nor have I found any direct correlation between wattage and noise. My theory is that the noise level generated by a particular blender has more to do with its insulation than its power rating. My best advice here is to listen to a demo model at the store before plunking down the plastic to determine whether you can live with the decibels.

Blender controls come in four basic styles, of which small buttons may be the most familiar. They are also the only option I really dislike. The buttons work fine, but they make the face of the blender base a bear to clean. The second option, flush touchpad controls, are particularly easy to use and clean. I have heard, however, that they can get a bit wonky over time, so I cant vouch for them over the long haul. Toggle switches and twist knobs are the third and fourth and, I think, best options. They are simple and easy to use, and they seem to split the difference between ease of cleaning and durability.

Some blenders offer a huge number of speeds. The ancient, harvest-gold clunker that Ive used for more than twenty-five years, for instance, has fourteen speeds. Of those, I think I have only ever used twolow, and high. I have also used the pulse feature, which is nice, but a luxury, since its easy to mimic by turning the blender on and off. If all those speeds float your boat, there is nothing wrong with having them, but I dont think they do much to enhance the blenders performance.

So there you have it. If you need to buy a blender, I suggest choosing one with a large-capacity, tapered glass jar with a removable base and blade assembly, and toggle switch or twist-knob controls. A pulse feature is nice if you can get it, and I wouldnt spend extra money to get extra speeds beyond low and high.

Finally, a banal reminder: you are going to be using a blender, whose very sharp blades, spinning at very high speeds, can cause very bad damage to very tender human fingers. And to most kitchen utensils you stick down into the blender jar while its running, too. And if you were, heaven forfend, to stick a metal utensil into the jar, you would be