Chikoo Shake Recipe: Thick Sapota Milkshake, Calories & Benefits

What Makes Chikoo the Perfect Milkshake Fruit?

If you have ever had a chikoo shake from a Mumbai juice stall near VT station, you know how good this fruit tastes when blended thick with cold milk. The caramel sweetness is natural. Chikoo has about 25 g of natural sugar per 200 g. That is plenty for a milkshake, so you rarely need to add much sugar on top.

I make this chikoo shake recipe at least twice a week when chikoo is in season. The blending takes less than 2 minutes in a portable blender. The secret is fully ripe chikoo and chilled milk.

Science note: A 2012 lab study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry took tannins from unripe chikoo. In a test tube, they slowed alpha-amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch. This was not a study in people. It did not test blood sugar. And a shake uses ripe chikoo, not unripe. So do not treat a chikoo shake as a blood sugar remedy.

Classic Chikoo Shake Recipe (Sapota Milkshake)

Steps:

1. Peel the chikoo fully. Remove all seeds - they are hard and can damage blender blades.
2. Chop the pulp into rough pieces. No need to be precise.
3. Pour chilled milk into the blender bottle first.
4. Add chikoo pulp and sugar.
5. Add ice cubes last, on top of everything.
6. Blend for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth. No chunks should remain.

The result is thick, creamy and naturally caramel-sweet. If your chikoo is very ripe, you can skip the sugar. That also cuts about 58 calories.

Chikoo Shake Calories and Nutrition (Per Serving)

How we worked it out: the Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT) 2017 list sapota at 307 kJ (about 73 kcal), 0.92 g protein and 9.6 g fibre per 100 g. They list whole cow milk at 305 kJ (about 73 kcal) and 3.26 g protein per 100 g. 250 ml of milk weighs about 258 g. Sugar (387 kcal per 100 g) and milk sugar come from Health Canada's Canadian Nutrient File. Fibre varies by fruit and test: that same Canadian table lists sapodilla at 5.3 g fibre per 100 g, not 9.6 g.

Cost depends on your city and the season. Here is how to work it out. If chikoo costs Rs 100 per kg, the 200 g in this recipe costs Rs 20. Add the price of 250 ml of your usual milk and one spoon of sugar. Juice shop prices vary a lot, so compare with the shop near you.

Chikoo Shake Benefits: Is It Good or Bad?

Here is what a chikoo shake does and does not give you, in plain numbers:

• Fibre: IFCT 2017 lists 9.6 g fibre per 100 g of sapota. So the 200 g in this recipe gives about 19 g.
• Protein: About 10 g. Around 8 g of it comes from the 250 ml of milk.
• Energy: About 390 calories. That is more than a light snack, so drink it in place of one, not as an extra.
• Sugar: About 25 g from the chikoo, 13 g from the milk and 15 g from added sugar.

If you have diabetes, ask your doctor before you add a sweet fruit shake to your day. The lab study above does not show that chikoo lowers blood sugar.

Is Sapota Juice Heat or Cold for the Body?

Most "sapota juice" sold in India is really a sapota milkshake. That is why its calories are close to the numbers above. A shake made with water instead of milk has fewer calories, but it also has much less protein.

3 Variations: Low-Cal, High-Protein, Chocolate Kids

The chocolate version is a hit at home. The cocoa and chikoo mix tastes like a Nutella milkshake without any Nutella. Kids love it. Variation numbers use the same tables, with whey and ice cream values from the Canadian Nutrient File. Your whey brand may differ, so check its label.

How to Pick the Perfect Chikoo

Ripe chikoo signs: Slight give when pressed, darker brown skin, sweet aroma near the stem end, peels easily without resistance.

Avoid: Green patches (under-ripe, very astringent), oozing liquid (overripe, fermented), hard and chalky texture (needs 2-3 more days).

India has two main chikoo harvests: January to February and May to June, says the National Horticulture Board. It lists Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala as the main growing states. Growing belts include Valsad, Navsari and Surat in Gujarat, and Kolar and Bangalore in Karnataka. Kalipatti and Cricket Ball are two common varieties.

Ayurvedic note: You will often see chikoo called a "cooling" fruit. We could not find a study that tests this, so we do not make health claims about it. See the heat or cold answer above.

Portable Blender Tips for Thick Milkshakes

Tip 1: Peel completely. Chikoo skin is fibrous. In a countertop blender, this gets pulverised. In a portable blender with 150-230W, the fibres wrap around the blades and create a gritty texture. Take 30 extra seconds to peel properly.

Tip 2: Pre-chill everything. Warm milk and warm chikoo cause separation and foaming in small blenders. The milkshake comes out thin and bubbly instead of thick and creamy. Chill both ingredients for at least 2 hours before blending.

Tip 3: Ice goes last. Ice melts fast in portable units if added first. It dilutes the shake and stresses the motor. Add milk and chikoo first, blend partially, then add ice for a quick 10-second crush at the end.

The InstaCuppa Portable Blender (400 ml, Rs 2,299) makes this recipe in two batches, since the full shake is about 420 ml. Each press runs a blend cycle of about 40 seconds. Plan on 2 to 3 cycles per batch for a smooth, thick shake. Its product page says it can crush ice cubes.