Milkshakes, malts, concretes, frappes and more: A (delicious) guide to frozen drinks

In the summer heat, we find ourselves drawn to that glorious section of the drinks menu that promises relief in the form of a cold, creamy, brain-freezing indulgence. But ordering a frozen drink looks different in different parts of the U.S., and in different restaurants and ice cream shops.

So, what is the difference between a milkshake, a malt, a frappe or maybe even a concrete?

Geography, tradition and local lingo all play a role in how frozen drinks are made and what they’re called.

Let’s break it down one strawful (or spoonful) at a time.

Perhaps the most iconic of the bunch, the milkshake is typically a blend of ice cream and milk, blended until smooth and sippable. It’s simple and sweet. The ice cream usually forms the base flavor of the drink, and then other flavorings are involved, from syrups to extracts to fresh fruit.

At the Lexington Candy Shop, a 100-year-old luncheonette with an old-fashioned soda fountain on Manhattan's Upper East Side, vanilla is the most popular milkshake — about 60% of all shakes ordered. That's according to John Philis, who co-owns the shop with Bob Karcher, and whose grandfather, Soterios Philis, opened it in 1925.

Their next most popular flavors are chocolate, coffee and strawberry, Philis said. Lexington Candy uses homemade syrups, he says, which give the shakes “a nice wow.”

Other fan favorites at the shop include the classic black and white (vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrups) and the Broadway (chocolate syrup with coffee ice cream). In the summer, there are peach shakes.

A malt is essentially a milkshake with a scoop of malted milk powder thrown in. Malted milk powder is an old-fashioned flavoring that combines malted barley, wheat flour (caution to the gluten-free crowd) and evaporated milk. It gives the drink that distinct toasted, almost nutty flavor that transports you mentally to a 1950s diner or drive-in.

Fun fact: Malted milk powder was originally created as a nutrition booster, mostly for babies, but it found its home behind the counter of ice cream shops and luncheonettes. It adds slightly richer, old-school vibes to shakes and other frozen drinks.

There are also plenty of frozen blended drinks made with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream; these are sometimes known as fro-yo shakes.

“Frappe” might mean different things to different people, depending on where they're from. In New England, particularly Massachusetts, a frappe is what most of us would call a milkshake, made with milk, ice cream and usually some other flavorings.

In Massachusetts, you will hear this drink called “frap” (rhymes with “nap”), but believe me when I say there is no consensus on the correct pronunciation of the word. Sometimes a frappe from this region might simply be flavored cold milk, no ice cream involved.

There is also a genre of frappes associated with coffee-blended drinks, popularized by chains like Starbucks. Think icy, blended lattes, often topped with whipped cream. These are pronounced “frap-pays.”

Philis says that in New York City and other regions, a shake used to be known as a “frosted.”

“When someone comes in and orders a ‘frosted,’ I like this person,” Philis declares.

When McDonald’s and other fast-food chains started calling shakes “shakes,” the world followed suit, and the word “frosted” went out of fashion.

A frosted float, Philis explains, is a milkshake with an extra scoop of ice cream floating on top. Talk about gilding the lily!

Then we have the concrete, an ultra-thick, creamy frozen dessert so dense that a spoon can stand upright in it. This is essentially frozen custard blended with mix-ins like candy, cookies or fruit, but no milk is added. It's more of a scoopable treat than a slurpable one.

Concretes are popular where frozen custard is popular — mostly in the Midwest. Frozen custard has significantly less air in it than most ice cream, and a required 1.4% of egg yolks, which gives it its signature richness.

The concrete was invented at a frozen custard shop called Ted Drewes in St. Louis. If you buy one there, the server will hand it to you upside down, saying, “Here’s your concrete,” and it won't fall out.

Travis Dillon (whose wife, Christy, is founder Ted Drewes' granddaughter) gave this origin story: In the 1950s, a kid named Steve Gamir used to come in and ask the guy behind the counter for “the thickest shake you can make.” Employees started leaving the milk out of Gamir's shakes, just running the custard through the machine, resulting in a shake that requires a spoon, not a straw.

Dillon says chocolate is their most popular flavor, then chocolate chip, strawberry and Heath Bar, but adds that there are lots of other flavors to explore, including a malted chocolate concrete — the best of two frozen-drink worlds!

Ice cream floats are the fizzy cousins of shakes. A scoop of ice cream (usually vanilla) is plopped into a glass of soda (usually root beer or cola, occasionally orange soda or a lemon-lime like Sprite) to create a frothy, sweet, bubbly concoction. Floats can be nostalgic for some folks.

Lexington Candy remains old-fashioned with their floats, making the sodas to order with syrup, stirring by hand, then adding the ice cream. In some areas of the country, you might hear a root-beer float referred to as a “brown cow.”

Like floats, ice cream sodas are not made in a blender — but the difference lies in the fizzy base. Philis says his are made by combining the syrup of your choice with seltzer. Then add a scoop of ice cream. He says usually the syrup and the ice cream are the same flavor, but people also like to mix and match.

Finally a word about smoothies, the supposedly more health-conscious frozen treat. Smoothies are traditionally made with fruit, yogurt, juice and sometimes ice. Sometimes, the fruit is frozen before it is blended into the drink. Smoothies are designed to feel virtuous, but they can still pack plenty of sugar, calories and richness, depending on the ingredients. For instance, if you see a peanut butter-chocolate-banana smoothie, you may realize quickly that this is more about flavor than health.

So the only question is: Is there enough time left in the summer to try the whole lexicon of frozen creamy drinks? Believe in yourself. I believe in you.

This story has been updated to correct the description of an ice cream soda, which is made with syrup, seltzer and ice cream, not syrup, coffee, half-and-half, seltzer and ice cream.

Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.

For more AP food stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/recipes

A Coca-Cola float is displayed at the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop Luncheonette in New York on Aug. 7, 2025. (Katie Workman via AP)

John Philis poses with a chocolate milkshake at the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop Luncheonette in New York on Aug. 7, 2025. (Katie Workman via AP)

A sign for the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop Luncheonette appears in New York on Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Guido Neira)

A Coca-Cola float is displayed at the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop Luncheonette in New York on Aug. 7, 2025. (Katie Workman via AP)

Pedestrians walk outside the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop Luncheonette in New York on Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Guido Neira)

A chocolate milkshake is displayed at the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop Luncheonette in New York on Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Guido Neira)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Bichette and the New York Mets agreed Friday to a $126 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced.

A two-time All-Star at shortstop with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette will move to third base with the Mets, who have Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Bichette has never played a professional game at the hot corner.

Bichette can opt out of the deal after the first or second season to become a free agent again. He would receive $47 million for one year and $89 million for two years, the person said.

The deal does not contain any deferred money and Bichette gets a full no-trade provision. His $42 million average annual value ties for the sixth-highest in baseball history.

It was the latest big development in an eventful offseason for the Mets, who angered fans by letting popular slugger Pete Alonso and star closer Edwin Díaz leave in free agency. President of baseball operations David Stearns also traded two other stalwarts in outfielder Brandon Nimmo and versatile veteran Jeff McNeil — both homegrown players.

New York signed closer Devin Williams to a $51 million, three-year contract, infielder Jorge Polanco to a $40 million, two-year deal and reliever Luke Weaver to a $22 million, two-year agreement.

Although he lacks Alonso's prodigious power, Bichette is a proven hitter with lightning-fast hands and a penchant for line-drive doubles. He would give the Mets a dangerous right-handed bat to help complement lefty slugger Juan Soto.

Because of his inexperience at third, however, Bichette becomes the latest question mark in the field for New York even though Stearns has insisted the team must improve its defense and is determined to do so.

Polanco has one pitch of major league experience at first base, where he and Mark Vientos, previously a third baseman, are the leading candidates to replace Alonso.

New York had planned to start Brett Baty at third, where he provides a strong glove. Baty, who also has experience at second base, is viewed as a versatile defender who could see time in the outfield and perhaps at first.

Or, the Mets could look to trade Baty for pitching or outfield help. Gold Glove winner Marcus Semien is set to play second after arriving from Texas in a November trade for Nimmo.

Bichette batted .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games for the Blue Jays last year. He homered off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Late last season, Bichette sprained his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, keeping the infielder out of the lineup until the World Series. He returned for Game 1 against the Dodgers and played second base for the first time in six years.

Bichette led the American League in hits in 2021 and 2022. He finished second in the major leagues in batting average last season to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Bichette turned down a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from the Blue Jays in November, so they would receive an extra draft pick in July after the fourth round if he completes his deal with the Mets.

New York would forfeit its second- and fifth-highest draft picks, along with $1 million in 2027 international signing bonus pool allocation.

Bichette was one of the last remaining big-name hitters on the free agent market after outfielder Kyle Tucker spurned the Mets and agreed Thursday to a $240 million, four-year contract with the Dodgers.

Bichette, who turns 28 in March, has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays since they selected him in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft. He is a .294 career hitter with 111 home runs and an .806 OPS in 748 major league games.

He is a son of former big league slugger Dante Bichette, a four-time All-Star outfielder.

AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and David Brandt and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

FILE - Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette celebrates his three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning in Game 7 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

FILE - New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns responds to questions during a news conference about MLB trade deadline deals, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)