Hamilton Beach may sound like an oxymoron to anybody who has paid a visit to this New Zealand river city, but it invokes memories of creaming soda and double lime, two straws and frosted aluminium for those who remember the glory days of dairying. Not the dairying of cows and better butter that makes Hamilton rich, but of chrome and America's contribution to taste - the Hamilton Beach milkshake machine.

Heart of the Milk Bar

Hamilton Beach's deco brackets, with their pods poised above gleaming mixer arms that delivered milkshakes in cool, tall aluminium beakers, were the heart of the milk bar at a time when milk was the cool drink¹ and jukebox music was eroding the moral fabric of the western world. Great milk bars were places of style and social consequence at a time when pubs were slop houses and restaurants didn't serve wine. They were serious places that demanded serious drinking, and there was nothing more serious than a milkshake.

Simply Difficult

One of the truths about mixing drinks, as in preparing food, is that the simplest things are, in fact, the most difficult. Yet it is by them that the abilities of chefs and bartenders are measured. With food, it is the making of oil and vinegar salad dressing, or perhaps the deceptively straightforward process of preparing a crème anglais.

With drinks, milkshakes are right up there, along with coffee and the much-vaunted challenge of the Martini. All are drinks that depend on the best of raw materials, consummated by the art of blending with balance, subtlety and flair, delivering a light, creamy, flavoured skein of dense foam.

Dead as the Milk Bar

Unfortunately, the milkshake is as dead as the milk bar², even in New Zealand where they claim to be the home of the finest natural milk sucked out of cows anywhere. As is the case all over the world, they stopped using real milk years ago, in favour of a watered-down version that is thickened with animal fat instead of ice-cream, making a sweet, dairy food slurry of indeterminate origin. No wonder they are not called milkshakes any more, just shakes.

But, if you can get hold of an old Hamilton Beach, or even use your own blender, you can make the real thing. Ice-cream, fresh milk, some flavouring such as your favourite liqueur, the magic of bubbles and you have it.

Hokey Chokey

Ingredients

Any flavour ice-cream and liqueur can be substituted.

• 1 scoop of hokey pokey ice-cream (see below for recipe)

• 400ml of cold milk, preferably fresh from a Jersey, but a carton will do

• 75ml of white Crème de Cacao³

Method

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or Hamilton Beach aluminium milkshake container. Plug in, switch on and whiz until mixed to an even, frothy state.

2. Pour into a glass, or, if you have an inclination for nostalgia (and you are over 40), leave in the now well-frosted aluminium.

3. Finally, give yourself a moustache and drink it straight from the glass, otherwise the lumps of hokey pokey will get stuck in the straw.

Hokey Pokey Ice-cream

Ingredients

• 4 heaped tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 heaped tbsp golden syrup
• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 litre vanilla ice-cream

Method

1. In a heavy-based pan, allow the sugar and syrup to dissolve slowly over a low heat, stirring well. Increase the heat to medium and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.

2. Once you see bubbles, reduce the heat slightly and simmer for five minutes, stirring frequently, until it is a deep golden-brown colour. Ensure that it does not burn.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate until it froths up, then pour into a well-buttered 25cm x 18cm (10in x 7in) shallow tin. Leave to cool completely. This is the 'hokey pokey'.

4. Break the contents into small pieces by placing it all in a plastic bag and bashing with a rolling pin.

To make the hokey pokey ice-cream:

1. Soften the ice-cream very slightly by placing it on 'defrost' in the microwave for one minute.

2. Tip into a bowl and quickly mix in the hokey pokey.

3. Refreeze until needed.

Serves 8.