Learn English – When talking to American clients, should I say “smoothie” or “milkshake”

american-englishbritish-englishword-choice

We have a client visit planned to our service center (in India) and I am in-charge of Food and Beverages for our client's entire itinerary. I am writing to my client's Travel coordinator(an American) seeking a clarification on beverages that are to be arranged.

For breakfast, we have finalized on Filter Coffee (Hot) and Fresh fruit [Smoothie/Milkshake] (Cold) in Beverages. Kindly let us know if there are other preferences. Thanks

The cold beverage will be mixture of fruits + milk + ice cream + dry fruits (nuts)

N.B: Since I probably will be dealing with British clients in the near future, I'd be grateful if you could point out which word is clearer for Britons.


Verdict

First of all, thanks to each and every EL&U member for registering their answers and comments. What started out as a word-choice dilemma has spiraled out of control (in a good way, I should say:)) and has provided clear guidelines on the usage of the words "smoothie" and "milkshake", and more importantly what goes in it and what does not. I showed this to our catering manager and she couldn't help but be amazed! Therefore, I feel the need to update you all on the outcome.

For beverages, we will be offering our American clients banana and apple smoothies with lot of fruits, zero sugar and a little amount of low-fat milk (none of the dignitaries are lactose intolerant, phew!). We are doing away with the nuts as suggested by many but will anyways be placing some dry fruits and nut varieties separately as a "top-up"( can be included with the drink or taken separately, as per individual tastes!)

I once again thank everyone for your answers and comments and of course, if someone has an alternative definition of these words, you can always post them here.

Cheers

Best Answer

A milkshake usually contains only milk and ice cream. However, sometimes strawberries or bananas can be added.

If the beverage is mostly fruit and ice, then I would call it a smoothie. If you add some milk, nuts, or ice cream to it I would still call it a smoothie.

The key ingredients determine the name. So if it is mostly ice cream and milk, it's a milkshake. If it's mostly fruit and ice then it's a smoothie. Also, milkshakes traditionally don't have nuts, protein powder, vitamin powders, or other additives.

In your example, I would call it a smoothie. If I saw smoothie on the menu I would expect the ingredients that you listed. Milkshake confuses things a bit. Stick to one.