What do you fancy? A milkshake or a smoothie?

The sun is out in its full glory, so why not teach you how to make cool drinks that will make the heat more bearable?

I am talking about milkshakes and smoothies. Let us start with the milkshake.

It is basically made with milk and ice-cream, which is blended to make a tasty, refreshing drink.

Once you learn how to make a basic milkshake, you can experiment with more ingredients to make a different one each time.

To vary taste, add different syrups, fruits or other mix-ins and varying  flavours of ice-cream. Making a milkshake is fun, easy, and doesn’t take a lot of time.

Let’s get started!

 Here’s How:

1.  Start with the right tools. You will need a blender. It doesn’t have to be a high-quality blender that crushes ice or turns an orange into pulp in 10 seconds. Any will do, even an immersion blender.

2.  Learn the basic recipe for a milkshake. You will need:

  400g ice-cream

  1 to 1½  cups milk

3.  Put all of the ingredients in a blender. Cover, and blend until smooth. You want a thick milkshake, and over-blending will make it turn thin and watery.

4. Pour into glasses, garnish if desired, and serve immediately.

 Tips:

1.  Use the highest-quality ingredients you can find. A natural premium ice-cream will yield a better-tasting milkshake. Go for all-natural syrups and ripe fruits, in fact, the riper the better.

2. Milkshakes are best served right away, since they turn watery very quickly.

3.  For variety, try using soymilk, almond milk or flavoured milks.

Smoothies

Most smoothies are made using fruits, but you can also use vegetables. You can also use milk, yogurt or ice-cream.

Here’s how to make one

The tastiest smoothies are frosty, so you’ll need to crush either frozen fruit or frozen ice. Choose a blender that can crush ice well, or a food processor.

2-3 cups of frozen fruit

1 to one-and-a-half cups of water or juice

1/2 cup of yogurt (optional)

In case you don’t have frozen fruits, you can use fresh fruit and ice cubes instead. In this case, you need a high-speed blender.

If using fresh fruits, ensure you cut them into small pieces.

If you want a cold drink, add ice cubes and blend together with the fruits.

Add the water or juice.

Tips:

1.  For a sweet smoothie, use pineapple juice or orange juice. For a creamy drink, use milk, soymilk, coconut milk, flavoured yogurts or a combination of fruit.

2. Sprinkle coconut flakes, nuts, some  chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or honey and peanut butter before enjoying it.

For any comment or feedback, follow me @chefraphaelkn or visit www.chef-raphael.com to get more recipes and cooking tips

Chef’s tip

If your bananas ripen faster than you can eat them, refrigerate to stop them from going bad. The peel will turn black, but the banana will still be edible. Remove from the fridge a few minutes before eating.