…and the answer is, why yes it can, in a milky kind of way.

The Prototype Potato Shake
Next question.
What exactly would possess one to even think about making a potato milkshake?
Two things, really.
- you’re me
- you have been invited by the lovely Aoife Mc to a Guilty Pleasures dinner party, the premise of which is that everyone brings food which fits into the I-shouldn’t-but-I’m-going-to-enjoy-it-anyway category
But still, a potato milkshake? The mere mention of which was enough to strike fear into the heart of at least one of the other party attendees? I can only plead that it is not as bad as it sounds.
I happened across the idea in the eye-catching coffee-table book Potato by Lyndsay and Patrick Mikanowski, which included a recipe by Gilles Choukroun for a savoury potato milkshake, flavoured with parsley and cumin. It caught my attention but in a “frankly that sounds odd” kind of way. I simply had to give it a whirl, though, so that it I could confirm that, in point of fact, it was odd.
Thing is, it was not so odd that I didn’t think there was merit in coming up with a sweet version instead. And so, after some playtime in the kitchen, a blend of cooked potato, milk, honey and lecithin came together as an offering for guilty pleasure consumption. And people lived to tell the tale.
I will confess that it is still somewhat of a work-in-progress. Unlike my first home sample, the super-sized batch whizzed up on the night of the party was (in what you might call a case of blending under pressure) a bit OTT on the potato and honey fronts. I had also wanted to add some malt but had none. No matter. I will send the formula back to the lab for minor tweaks and return to the topic anon.
My other contribution to the evening was some Elvis bread, which I have been wanting to make ever since I saw it on Recipe Play. All you really need to know is that it’s peanut butter, bananas and honey rolled up in pizza dough, and if that results in an understandable urge to make some yourself, you can head on over to Will’s video to see how it’s done.

Elvis Bread, guilty as charged
As for the rest of our guilty carb-fest, Aoife Mc has the full colour low-down on the lot, which, in addition to the milkshake and Elvis bread, included all of the following good-for-the-soul food and drink:
- lashings of lovely pimms no. 1 cup with ginger ale, lemonade and some healthy fruity things
- big, fat, juicy olives with thyme and anchovies
- divine caramelized onion hummus
- delectable cubes of halloumi cheese fried with paprika
- ham and crisp sandwiches and it’s hard to beat a sandwich that involves crisps
- my first-but-not-my-last peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- a delightful eggy, cheesy, worcestershire saucy mix on toast
- a positively gourmet presentation of deep fried mini mars bars and cream soda floats
Oh, and wine. Plenty of wine.
All of which was very pleasurable to those present, who, along with our hosts Aoife Mc and Niall, included Rick, Raptureponies, Darragh, Loreana and a couple of people who (shock, horror) don’t have blogs, resident sis and Jocelyn. We all left wine-filled and artery-clogged but happy. And, yeah, maybe just a tad guilty, though I daresay, given half a chance, we’d all do it all over again!
what?? we never fed you PB&J when you were in the states? i am shamed. shamed.
I would love a nice piece of that elvis bread!!! yum…
Potato milkshake??? That’s a new one to me. Sorry the first nig batch didn’t turn out as well as you’d hoped. But like you said it’s a work in progress. I’m sure the right mix will find its way to you.
potato milkshake?! i’m scared!! but that elvis bread sounds AMAZING!
I read Aoife Mc’s account earlier, and I am jealous, jealous, jealous! Sounds like the best time ever. Seriously. I wonder how the potato milkshake would be w/nutmeg–kind of like potato egg nog? Sounds interesting, at any rate.
Will’s bread looks Ridiculously Good (minus bananas for me, thankyouverymuch), and I went over to his place to watch his video, too.
Potato milkshake sounds awesome – I can’t wait to see your final recipe!
Hmmm, now you have me thinking. Maybe I should make a cheese milkshake? If your potato shake tastes good, which I would love to try considering I love milkshakes, maybe a cheese milkshake would taste good. Yum! :)
Hmmm, I’m trying to think what I would bring if I was invited. Maybe ‘beer flavored chocolate’? ‘chocolate flavored beer? beer and chocolate.
Do you see where I’m trying to go with this?
Here’s shakin’ the potato at ‘chu?
Potato shake, hummmmm. I’m thinking on that….
Hi Spud – great to see the potato milkshake up on the blog, it really was yum. I think Jenni’s idea of the nutmeggy eggnog thing could really work, it had exactly the right texture as far as I can remember!
Thanks again for the Elvis bread and your wonderful company :)
Well I am so intrigued by that shake. It’s weird but cool and different!
Was great to meet you! Sad I missed out on the spudshake :(
Just when we think the potato can go no farther…a milkshake you say? Please share more. The Elvis bread is interesting too.
Tim: it was only when I was eating the pb&j that it occurred to me that I had no recollection of ever having had it before – not your fault and the situation has now been rectified!
jenn: the Elvis bread was gooooood (in fact, it still is – I made a lot and still have some) and the milkshake only needs a little bit of work I feel…
Heather: you are not the only one to have had those reactions to both the milkshake and the Elvis bread!
Jenni: now the potato egg nog is an interesting idea – I’ve never had egg nog but, from what I’ve seen, the consistency is probably close to the potato milkshake and maybe a little nutmeg might be just the thing, hmmm…
Natasha: hopefully it will be worth the wait (and thanks for posting about the use of lecithin in smoothies, that really helped the texture and is definitely part of the formula)
GrilledShane: well, I think you would be the man to tackle the cheese milkshake, I will await news of same
lisha: beer ‘n’ chocolate, bring it on, in fact someone even pointed me at this site, where they produce a chocolate beer…
Katrina: it can take a while to get your head around the concept…
aoife mc: yep, I think the egg nog / nutmeg idea is definitely worth a look, I’m going to go to work on that for sure; thanks again for a fabulous and filling evening :)
noble pig: yep, weird and wonderful!
Loreana: lovely to meet you too and when I get the milkshake formula perfected, you’ll be able to try the spudshake for yourself :)
Duo Dishes: I’m not done with milkshakes – I will definitely be returning the topic – and the Elvis bread is yum indeed (and would be really good with a sprinkle of cinnamon too)
I tip my hat to your ingenuity, Spud – you are a potato genius and your creativity is unparalleled! Can’t wait to see what comes back from the lab after you’ve tweaked a bit … though, frankly, it already sounds good. Maybe I’d add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, just for kicks! ;)
To be honest, I’m not surprised by potato milkshake as I’m directly on your blog. I can expect everything based on potato from you. And I look forward to learning the final step of that working process. And that elvis bread sounds scrumptious!
Stopped in at Aoife Mc’s blog to check out the pix – the one with you all hoisting your glasses of potato shake was a hoot! Such brave faces: “Tell our mums we love them . . . ”
I can’t wait to hear how the improvements go or at least what went in the original. I’m game to try it! As for the Guilty Pleasures food, your Elvis Bread is a hunka, hunka baked bread love! I would pop some antihistamines and risk a peanut allergy reaction to have a taste of it.
If I were to try anyone’s potato milkshake, it would of course be yours! Since avocado milkshakes are a personal favorite of mine, it doesn’t surprise me that this could be really yummy, too. And that Elvis sandwich has me itching like a man on a fuzzy tree.
I have to admit… i was dubious… but spud shake FTW!
Diva: oh I think a scoop of vanilla ice cream wouldn’t go astray!
zerrin: let me just say that I’m not surprised that you’re not surprised :)
Tangled Noodle: everyone was so brave – I had to laugh at the whole before shots thing, there was an air of genuine trepidation about the place :) As for the Elvis bread, you might need to pop a lot of anti-peanut-allergy drugs, cos it had a lotta, lotta peanuts goin’ on!
Sapuche: avocado milkshake? yeah, I think I could run with that…
raptureponies: thanks – great to meet you and thanks for giving the spudshake a whirl!
potato milkshake? I’m down for a glass! Anything is better than a garlic milkshake (that really exists – I had one at the gilroy garlic festival in california, oh, by the way, it was like 102F degrees – yuck).
Did you dip any of that elvis bread (which looks so delicious) in your milkshake?
I saw your green tomato comment on my blog – I hope you’ll be posting some green tomato recipes when the time comes!
I have to hand it to you. This isn’t something I would ever think of.
The party looks like loads of fun, and I think a potato milkshake makes a lot of sense. Not that it ever occurred to me before, but in retrospect, its a no-brainer. I look forward to seeing the final recipe and now it looks like you have plenty of willing test subjects.
The Elvis bread looks wonderful and very indulgent. Got a few races coming up, so I think I’ll save this recipe until later.
Aoife, picture me in D.C. blushing. I’m so glad you liked the Elvis Bread. My little brother and sister always ask me to make it. Love the idea of adding a sprinkle of cinnamon. I love cinnamon…
Thanks as always for the mention. I’m so thrilled about your EuroBlog Award! Though, I think you really should consider writing a song about potatoes. It seems to me a jig might be appropriate.
Will
Great idea! It totally makes sense too. In Mexico they have a milky drink called Horchata that’s made with the starch from rice, so why not potato starch?
Hope you keep working on the concept! I guess that means I should get started on brussel sprout cupcakes:-)
gastroanthropologist: garlic milkshake? oh dear, not sure I could do that… And no, we didn’t dip the Elvis bread in the milkshake but that’s only because we didn’t think of it – sounds like a great idea though! As for the green tomatoes, I expect there’ll be some pickle and chutney recipes happening when the time comes.
Hillary: to be fair, I guess not many would have :)
OysterCulture: the party was great fun and it was good to have some willing test subjects – and if you have races coming up, why I think that the Elvis bread might constitute excellent racing fuel :)
Will: well, thanks for the introduction to Elvis bread, I’m not surprised that your family ask for it a lot. As for a potato jig, it seems like I may just to have to do that someday, lol
Marc: interesting, I’ll have to take a look at horchata and keep working on the potato version – meanwhile, I’ll keep an eye out for your sprout cupcakes, lol