SMOOTHIES 101
By Stacey Kumagai
The basic smoothie has been in existence since the beginning of fresh fruit and rocks (the hand blending by mortar and pestle of fresh fruits and their juices).
The first electric blender was invented in 1922 by Stephen J. Poplawski. But he created the blender for milk shakes, not for smoothies, but this could be considered the first authentic "smoothie‟ made traditionally in a blender as we know them today. Poplawski's company, Stevens Electric Company was sold to Oster Manufacturing, who commercialized the blender.
The art of smoothies is blending fruits and/or vegetables together to make a juice. The first "smoothie‟ is really blended baby food, with the first mainstream commercialized food-grade blender, in 1937. This was the result of Poplawski's original 1932 food blending design improved upon by the two Freds….Fred Osius (Oster Mfg.) and Fred Waring, called “The Miracle Mixer.”
Historically, the "Daiquiri‟ is considered the first smoothie alcoholic beverage from Cuba in the late 1800s (originally made with hand pulverized ice), before the blender made the frozen version mainstream.
Fruit and vegetable juice smoothies became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s with the growing "hippie" trend of health food stores.
Smoothies can contain fruit, vegetables, juice, yogurt, milk, ice cream, a myriad of protein powders, wheat grass, tofu and non-dairy products like soy, rice and almond milks. They also can contain a wide variety of grains like wheat germ and barley, or nuts and nut butters, seeds, flax and grape seed oils, extracts, syrups, honey, aloe vera juice and even chocolate.
Today the most popular smoothie consumed contains coffee, which is put on the blender's "frappe" iced blended speed.
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