Shaken Udder Banana!

Product name: Shaken Udder Banana!
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 200ml carton or three for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 136 per carton
Country of origin: England 

Tonight’s review is my last of the Shaken Udder range designed for kids: Banana!

The concept and health claims of this product were the same as the Chocolate! and Strawberry! versions, and it came in a bright yellow carton.

The drink was made from ‘real banana’ and contained 94% semi-skimmed milk and 1% banana puree. The liquid pretty much looked like standard milk but it did have a very, very slight yellow tinge to it, and I noticed that it had been coloured by pumpkin and apple concentrates. Unusually, I found the scent of the milk itself to be stronger than the banana, but there was still a slight aroma of the latter present too.

As always, I chilled and shook the carton before opening. The milkshake still wasn’t quite as thick as I’d like but it did have a lovely creamy smooth texture. I somehow managed to lose the straw from my carton so I was unable to try drinking it in this way but, presumably, this would have made it feel a little thicker.

The banana flavour was noticeable but quite subtle – it tasted sweet and almost vanilla-like. I did think there was a slightly artificial element to the taste, too, but this was almost not worth mentioning compared to many other milkshakes I’ve had in my time.

What I enjoyed most about this Shaken Udder Banana! drink was just how refreshing it was. It was obviously more of a treat than a standard glass of milk but it didn’t provide the heaviness or sickliness that so many other flavoured milks and shakes do. As a result, this will be my variety of choice in future.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.5/10

Shaken Udder Strawberry!

Product name: Shaken Udder Strawberry!
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 200ml carton or three for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 136 per carton
Country of origin: England 

Following on from my review of Shaken Udder Chocolate!, the time has come for me to review the Strawberry! version.

This ‘delicious blend of natural fresh milk and real strawberries’ was exactly the same concept as Shaken Udder Chocolate! but was made of 93% semi-skimmed milk and 1% strawberry puree and came in a red carton to represent the flavour.

As instructed, I sampled the drink ‘ice cold’, and shaken. The liquid was extremely pale pink in colour which suggested that it was as healthy as it claimed to be – I noticed on the ingredients list that even this shade had been achieved by using concentrates of radish, pumpkin, apple and tomato!

The drink had a sweet strawberry scent that reminded me a bit of Storck Campino sweets. Whilst this was deliciously strong on first sniff, it was the type of aroma that didn’t linger.

The milkshake’s flavour took me right back to the occasional drinks of strawberry milk I had when I was a kid. I did find it tasted slightly artificial, despite its natural ingredients, but I did enjoy the flavour and found it had a little sugary kick too. To top it off, it was also surprisingly creamy.

As with the Chocolate! variety, this drink wasn’t as thick as I like my milkshakes to be, but it was smooth and a little thicker than standard milk. However, I did find it felt almost watery when first entering the mouth, which was a shame.

Since Shaken Udder Strawberry! was designed to be drunk straight from the carton, I also tried the shake through the straw provided, and found that this intensified the flavour – presumably due to it being focussed on a specific area of the tongue!

Once again, this was a tasty little offering from Shaken Udder, and one I would have loved to have found in my childhood lunchboxes.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.38/10

Shaken Udder Chocolate!

Product name: Shaken Udder Chocolate!
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 200ml carton or three for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 140 per carton
Country of origin: England 

Having reviewed Shaken Udder Vanillalicious! when I first started my blog, I was pleased to see this great offer on the brand’s newer kids’ cartons. I bought one of each flavour and tonight’s review is of the Chocolate! variety. 

  

This fun, slightly more angular than usual,  brown carton was very much focussed on being natural and having health benefits. It contained no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives and, containing vitamin B12 and calcium, provided ‘natural immunity support’. The ‘high temperature pasteurised milkshake’ claimed to be a ‘delicious blend of natural fresh milk and real chocolate’ and ‘full of great tasting natural milk goodness’. Furthermore, it met government guidelines for use in schools. 

As instructed, I enjoyed this drink chilled and shaken (the latter caused the extreme frothiness at the top of my glass!). You may be wondering how a child could enjoy this chilled having taken it to school in their lunchbox. The answer? Freeze it overnight – sorted! 

The drink was the shade of brown I’d expect for a chocolate milk drink but I was pleasantly surprised that it smelt more like a sweet milk chocolate itself rather than a chocolate flavoured milkshake. However, this aroma wasn’t overly strong. 

Since 95% of the milkshake consisted of semi-skimmed milk, with only 1% being milk chocolate powder (plus some cocoa powder for added measure), the chocolate taste was quite subtle.  However, the cocoa flavour was definitely present and it did taste more interesting than standard milk. For me, the best thing was that it wasn’t at all sickly! 

In terms of texture, this drink was only a little thicker than ordinary milk, so it felt more like a flavoured milk than an actual milkshake. That’s not to say it wasn’t pleasant, but I do prefer a thicker liquid for milkshakes. However, this probably would have been more difficult to be consumed through a straw. (Incidentally, I intended to try this milkshake in that way too but I completely forgot until I finished it and then spotted the straw on the side – oops!) 

I’m not going to pretend this milkshake was mindblowing but I do love the concept of a relatively healthy but fun drink aimed at children. I know I would have loved to have found this Shaken Udder Chocolate! in my lunchbox when I was a kid! 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Shaken Udder Vanillalicious!

Product name: Shaken Udder Vanillalicious!
Purchase details: Tesco Superstore
Calories: 221 per bottle
Country of origin: Britain

Time for another review that’s resulted from my lovely Higgidy picnic prize (see here). This Shaken Udder Vanillalicious! bottle is usually £1.29 in Tesco but I used my voucher to claim a very welcome free bottle.

Usually, I try to avoid drinking calories as I am such a big food lover. However, I was willing to make an exception for this delicious looking ‘milk drink with vanilla beans’. The liquid was an attractive creamy colour with very visible vanilla beans which is a feature I love to see in vanilla products.

I know people often criticise vanilla for being bland and boring, but it’s a flavour I’ve always loved. I’m particularly obsessed with its aroma – give me a vanilla scented candle and I’m happy!  Imagine my delight, then, when I unscrewed the cap of this bottle to release an incredible scent which was just like the candles but with the added bonus of being able to taste the product once I was bored of sniffing it. I should add, there was also a milky element to the smell, and so this aroma was not an artificial one.

Before trying this product, I gave the bottle a good shake, and the result was a texture that was slightly thicker than milk in its natural form. However, this difference was only slight, and the drink certainly wasn’t as thick as some milkshakes I’ve tried (presumably due to the absence of ice cream). Personally, I would have preferred the liquid to be slightly thicker, but I did enjoy the silkiness that came with the thinner version.

As for the flavour, I could taste both the milk and the sweet vanilla and, overall, felt that the drink tasted pleasantly like custard. The only down-side of this was that the thin texture made the experience slightly unusual as it was neither one thing or the other.

I really enjoyed how refreshing this bottle of Shaken Udder was, and I was also relieved that it made me feel full, despite being a drink rather than food. However, I did find it slightly sickly so would only drink it occasionally in future.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 9.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 8/10