Journée nationale du milkshake à la vanille – 20 juin

On June 20, we raise a frosty glass to an American diner classic: the vanilla milkshake. It's Journée nationale du milkshake à la vanille, a celebration of the simple yet heavenly concoction of vanilla ice cream blended with milk and often topped with whipped cream. In a world of wild shake flavors and Instagram-worthy “freakshakes,” the unassuming vanilla milkshake might seem plain - but it's the very foundation of milkshake culture.

Riche, crémeux et réconfortant, un milkshake à la vanille se suffit à lui-même et sert également de base à d'innombrables autres saveurs (après tout, que seraient les milkshakes au chocolat ou à la fraise sans vanille ?). Cette fête rend hommage à l'histoire et à l'artisanat du milkshake, une gourmandise qui ravit les Américains depuis plus d'un siècle. Des fontaines à soda d'antan aux comptoirs de restauration rapide modernes, le milkshake à la vanille reste un symbole de gourmandise, de nostalgie et du plaisir d'une gourmandise fraîche par une chaude journée.

Célébration de la Journée nationale du milkshake à la vanille

La Journée nationale du milkshake à la vanille est synonyme de gourmandise et d'une touche rétro. Voici quelques idées pour célébrer l'occasion :

• Sortez pour un shake : Visit a local ice cream parlor or diner that serves old-fashioned milkshakes. There's something special about ordering a shake and having it presented in a chilled tall glass, often with the metal mixing cup on the side containing the extra. Whether it's a mom-and-pop soda fountain or a chain like Johnny Rockets or Shake Shack, treat yourself to the real deal. Many places might even offer discounts or special vanilla shake variations on this day.
• Préparez le shake maison ultime : Making a vanilla milkshake at home is super simple, but you can elevate it with a few tricks. Start with high-quality vanilla ice cream (the more real vanilla bean flavor, the better) and whole milk for richness. Blend until just smooth - over-blending can make it too melty. For an extra cold shake, chill your glasses in the freezer beforehand. Top it with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry for the classic look. Maybe even stick a wafer cookie or a slice of banana on the rim as a garnish. The beauty of vanilla is you can add whatever you like - a drizzle of caramel Ou encore, une poignée de miettes d'Oreo peut transformer votre milkshake à la vanille en une boisson unique, tout en conservant la vanille comme ingrédient principal.
• Organisez une soirée milkshake : Invite friends or neighbors over for a milkshake bar. Set out a blender and various ingredients so people can customize their vanilla shakes. Have mix-ins like chocolate chips, berries, peanut butter, malted milk powder, or flavored syrups. The base for everyone is vanilla ice cream and milk, but they can choose to doctor it up as they please. Don't forget toppings: sprinkles, whipped cream, fudge sauce. Play some '50s rock 'n' roll or doo-wop in the background to get that retro vibe going. This can be especially fun for kids - you might even create a contest for the most creative vanilla shake remix.
• Milkshake Memory Lane : Take a moment to share memories or pop culture moments involving milkshakes. Do you remember the first time you had a milkshake? Is there a favorite movie scene (perhaps Travolta and Thurman's $5 milkshake in “Pulp Fiction,” which was a vanilla shake) or a song (Kelis's “Milkshake,” anyone?) that comes to mind? Social media will likely be abuzz on this day with people posting selfies with their shakes or debating whether a straw or spoon is the correct way to consume one. Join the conversation with the hashtag #VanillaMilkshakeDay et voyez quelle douce nostalgie les autres partagent.

Celebrating might also mean learning: perhaps look up why it's called a “milkshake.” As a fun fact to tell your friends while slurping shakes: the term caught on in the early 1900s, but the “shake” part likely referred to shaking up the mixture (or the mixing action of the blender) - and possibly because early milkshakes with whiskey would give a shake or jolt! Over time it came to simply mean a milk-and-ice-cream drink that's shaken or blended until frothy.

Histoire du milkshake à la vanille

The milkshake's story is a bit surprising - the earliest “milkshakes” of the late 19th century were actually alcoholic cocktails au whisky Avec des œufs et de la crème, ressemblant davantage à un lait de poule stout, il était décrit comme une « boisson saine et consistante de type lait de poule » en 1885. Au début des années 1900, le terme a évolué pour désigner la gourmandise froide et sans alcool que nous connaissons aujourd'hui, notamment après l'invention des mixeurs électriques et des mixeurs à boissons. Les fontaines à soda des années 1900 ont commencé à ajouter de la crème glacée aux boissons lactées aromatisées. Les sirops de chocolat, de vanille et de fraise ont été parmi les premiers arômes mélangés aux milkshakes et ont connu un succès immédiat. À l'époque, vous avez peut-être entendu parler de « milkshake glacé » ou de « milk-shake », désignant une boisson à base de crème glacée, par opposition au simple « lait malté », souvent aromatisé avec de la poudre de malt.

The advent of the electric blender in 1922 (thanks to inventor Stephen Poplawski) revolutionized the making of milkshakes. By the 1920s, places like Chicago's Walgreens were famous for their chocolate malted milkshakes, and by 1949, fast-food pioneer Dairy Queen had added milkshakes to their menu nationally. The 1940s and 50s were the golden age of the American diner and soda fountain, where teenagers sipped on thick vanilla malts and shakes while listening to jukebox tunes. The milkshake became emblematic of wholesome youth culture - think of the iconic image of two people sharing a shake with two straws.

Why vanilla? Vanilla was actually a rather exotic flavor in the 1800s (vanilla beans from orchids, primarily grown in Madagascar and tropical regions), but it rose to prominence as ice cream's default flavor in the U.S. by the 20th century. The smooth, creamy taste of vanilla ice cream makes it a perfect base for a milkshake, which might be why vanilla milkshakes have such staying power. The holiday itself, National Vanilla Milkshake Day, likely came into being through the efforts of ice cream companies or enthusiasts celebrating shake history. It's one of several “milkshake days” on the calendar (there's also a Chocolate Milkshake Day in September), but as the original flavor, vanilla gets the early summer slot. This timing in late June also aligns nicely with dairy month promotions and the general spike in ice cream consumption as weather heats up.

Recettes et innovations de milkshakes à la vanille

Bien qu'un milkshake à la vanille de base soit simplement composé de crème glacée, de lait et d'extrait de vanille (si votre crème glacée a besoin d'un regain de saveur), il existe de nombreuses façons de revisiter ce classique tout en gardant l'âme de la vanille intacte :

• Malts et Mixers : Add a tablespoon or two of malted milk powder to your vanilla shake to make a vanilla malt. The malt imparts a toasty, rich flavor that many find addictive - it's the taste of classic malt shop shakes. For a different spin, you could also throw in a scoop of vanilla protein powder and make it a post-workout treat (vanilla shakes can be surprisingly high in protein if made with protein-fortified mix-ins).
• Milkshake alcoolisé à la vanille : For adults only: spike your vanilla shake with a shot of something complementary. Good choices include bourbon (vanilla and bourbon are a heavenly match), Kahlúa or another coffee liqueur for a vanilla bean iced coffee vibe, or Irish cream liqueur to basically create a liquid “affogato” effect. Blend in the alcohol with the shake or simply pour it on top and stir a bit. Drink responsibly - these are deceptively easy to sip!
• Laits et glaces alternatifs : Sans produits laitiers ou vegan ? Vous pouvez toujours déguster un milk-shake à la vanille. Utilisez une glace végétale onctueuse (celle au lait de coco est généralement riche, ou celle au lait de cajou pour un goût plus neutre) et un lait végétal comme lait d'avoine Il est bien épais. Ajoutez une touche d'extrait de vanille, voire quelques gousses de vanille râpées, pour en amplifier la saveur. Le résultat sera tout aussi satisfaisant et permettra aux personnes intolérantes au lactose ou aux végétaliens de participer à la Journée Milkshake à la Vanille.
• Combinaisons de desserts : Consider using your vanilla shake as a component in a larger dessert. For example, make a mini ice cream float by dropping a small scoop of vanilla ice cream into a glass of root beer, then fill the rest with blended vanilla milkshake. It's like a supercharged root beer float. Or serve a vanilla shake as a side to a slice of pie (apple pie milkshake, anyone? Dip a piece of pie crust in or blend a tiny piece of pie into the shake to create a pie-shake fusion). Creativity has no calorie limit here!

One emerging trend in the world of shakes is the concept of “freakshakes” - those over-the-top milkshakes topped with a bakery's worth of goodies (doughnuts, whole slices of cake, candy bars, etc.). While those often lean chocolate or caramel, you could certainly make a vanilla freakshake: picture a vanilla shake in a jar with a vanilla-frosted doughnut on top, heaps of whipped cream, white chocolate drizzle, and maybe a slice of vanilla cake precariously perched. It's more for the spectacle than practicality, but hey, it's a celebration.

En matière de choix de produits, la qualité est primordiale. Parce qu'un milk-shake à la vanille ne se cache pas, il vous faut une bonne glace à la vanille. Privilégiez les marques qui utilisent de la vraie vanille (Vanille bourbon de Madagascar, vanille de Tahiti, etc.) et un minimum d'ingrédients artificiels. Parmi les vanilles les mieux notées lors des dégustations, on trouve Häagen-Dazs Vanille (simple and rich), Ben & Jerry's Vanilla (which has tiny flecks of vanilla bean), or regional dairy brands that make super-premium ice cream. If you're making shakes for a crowd, you can even get those big tubs of ice cream - just try to let the ice cream soften slightly before blending; very hard ice cream can be tough on blenders.

Don't forget the classic presentation. A verre à milkshake de style fontaine à soda and a bright straw can make the experience feel special. Some enthusiasts even serve water alongside shakes, a trick from diners to help cleanse the palate and cut the sweetness between sips. But however you serve it, take a moment to appreciate the simple perfection of vanilla, milk, and ice - three ingredients that, when shaken together, have created smiles for over a century.

Calendrier de la Journée nationale du milkshake à la vanille

Année	Date	Jour de la semaine
2026	20 juin 2026	Samedi
2027	20 juin 2027	Dimanche
2028	20 juin 2028	Mardi
2029	20 juin 2029	Mercredi
2030	20 juin 2030	Jeudi

Faits amusants sur les milkshakes

World's Largest Milkshake: According to Guinness World Records, the largest milkshake ever made was a whopping 6,000 gallons, created in 2000 in New York. It was a giant vanilla milkshake sponsored by Comfort Diners and the American Dairy Association, in celebration of the millennial year. 6,000 gallons could fill an entire tanker truck - that's a lot of brain freeze. They used over 8,000 gallons of ice cream to make it, essentially turning an entire swimming pool into a shake.

Origines de « Milkshake » : The term first appeared in print in 1885, but back then a milkshake was described as a sturdy eggnog-like drink with whiskey. By the early 1900s, the word was used in its modern sense. Also interesting: it wasn't until the 1930s that the use of the electric blender by Hamilton Beach popularized the perfectly aerated, frothy milkshake we know. Before that, shakes were often hand-shaken or mixed with mechanical shakers, and might not have had that smooth consistency.

Mascotte de Shake : Did you know there's a town that has a milkshake as a mascot? In the 1950s, the city of Newport, Rhode Island, had an official mascot named “Milky the Milkshake” - a man dressed in a milkshake cup costume - to promote an annual dairy festival. While Milky hasn't been around in decades, the vintage photos are a reminder of how milkshakes (especially vanilla, which was a default flavor in those promotions) were once a centerpiece of dairy pride events.

Secousses spatiales : Astronauts have enjoyed something akin to milkshakes in space - in the form of freeze-dried ice cream and powdered milk with flavoring that they mix with water. Okay, it's a stretch, but one fun anecdote: on the Apollo missions, astronauts' menus included a “vanilla drink” and “strawberry drink” which, once rehydrated, had a milkshake-like consistency (though not as luxurious as the real thing). In 1975, during the joint US-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz mission, the Americans shared a freeze-dried ice cream strawberry shake with the Soviet cosmonauts, giving a little sweet taste of Americana in orbit.