Bechamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine and is used in many recipes of Italian cuisine, for example, lasagne. In addition, it is used as the base for other sauces (such as Mornay sauce, Béchamel with cheese). In Italian, it is called besciamella or salsa colla.
This sauce is commonly made by blending a roux and milk. The roux is traditionally made by browning flour in melted butter but can also be made using oil instead. In Portuguese cuisine, a similar recipe called molho Branco (“white sauce”) is often prepared with wheat flour and chicken broth instead of milk. Bechamel was already known to Bernardino de Sahagún when he wrote about Aztec food in 1529.
Béchamel sauce is made by melting butter and flour together before adding milk. The classic recipe calls for a roux or a mixture of equal parts fat and flour. However, some recipes use less butter and more flour for a thicker sauce. In any case, you cook the ingredients until the raw taste of the flour is cooked out and the milk is thickened.
Alfredo sauce is similar to béchamel, but it uses cream rather than milk as its base. This gives Alfredo sauce its famously rich texture and a higher calorie count than béchamel. Alfredo sauce also has Parmesan cheese added to it. Sometimes garlic is added, too, but it sit is not necessary.
Besides using different bases, béchamel and Alfredo sauces differ in their applications. Béchamel is the base for many other sauces, including Mornay sauce, which is just béchamel with cheese, added to it. It is also often used in lasagna and other baked dishes like gratins because it holds up well under high heat. Alfredo sauce, on the other hand, is usually served.
Bechamel sauce aims to provide a relatively light, creamy liquid to combine with other ingredients. The original purpose of the mother sauces was to create a solid foundation for different sauces.
While today it is most often used in lasagna, it is also used in other dishes like moussaka, cauliflower cheese, broccoli cheese, and Welsh rarebit.
Béchamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is a basic white sauce. It is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine and is used in many recipes of Italian cuisine, for example, Lasagne, Alla Bolognese, and cannelloni.
Béchamel sauce is made by melting butter and then mixing it with a roux (butter and flour) mixture. Milk is added to this roux, constantly stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. The sauce is cooked until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
The thickness of the béchamel can be adjusted by changing the amount of time it cooks. A thinner béchamel can be used as a base for cream soups or sauces, while a thicker béchamel can be used as a base for gratins such as macaroni and cheese or lasagna.
The first question we should ask ourselves is why is there a white sauce at all?
The fact of the matter is, if you look into the history of sauces and how they were used, you will find that there were two main types of sauce:
Now, what did these two types of sauces have in common? First, they were both clear, which meant that they would not interfere with the color or appearance of the dish they were being served with.
Bechamel is an ancient sauce; it has been around since at least the 17th century. So what is it? It is essentially a thinned version of one of those thick sauces (one we usually make with flour) thickened with milk instead.
Béchamel is a variation of white sauce made from butter and flour. The two are not the same, however. Béchamel is typically made with warmed milk added to the roux, but the milk used can vary greatly. It can be thick or thin, making it suitable for use in soups and lasagna, and over meats.
White gravy starts with a simple roux (flour and fat) but includes drippings from meat as one of the ingredients. It also tends to have more fat than béchamel, making it richer. One of the most accessible versions to make is sausage gravy, which uses pan drippings from cooked sausage and some milk to create an instant sauce over biscuits or toast.
The critical difference between these two sauces is the amount of liquid used in each one. Béchamel needs more liquid to make it pourable, while white gravy usually has less liquid in it to stick better to whatever is being served under it.
The flavor of béchamel is rather bland, and the texture is smooth and creamy. You can add other flavors to this sauce, such as nutmeg, herbs, or cheese. Some people like to add garlic to it.
Béchamel is often used in some classic dishes, such as lasagna and macaroni and cheese. It is also used for soufflés, gratins and casseroles.
If you enjoy making your pasta sauces, try a béchamel recipe at home. You may be surprised at how easy it is to make this flavorful sauce!
The sauce tends to hide the flavors of other ingredients. Thats why many people think that gratins taste bland — it is simply an effect of the sauce. If youre serving a gratin, add plenty of spices and herbs to compensate for the béchamel.
Béchamel sauce, one of the most famous French sauces and five mother sauces, is a staple ingredient in many recipes. It is so versatile that you can use it as a base for soups, pasta dishes, casseroles, and even desserts!
Here are some of our favorite ways to use béchamel sauce in all kinds of dishes:
Béchamel sauce can be used as a base for other sauces, such as Mornay or mustard, by simply adding cheese or seasonings. It can also be used to make more complex sauces, such as soubise (onion-flavored), crème (thickened with egg yolks), or Nantua (with crayfish butter). It is often the base for soups such as onion soup gratinée and leek and potato soup.
In addition to its use as a base for soups and other sauces, béchamel is also used in many casseroles, such as lasagna, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, and chicken divan. Béchamel is also used in several different kinds of quiches and savory pies.
Serving béchamel by itself is a popular way to make it into a side dish: cook the sauce until it becomes thicker than usual, and then remove it from the heat before adding any cheese or other flavorings.
A roux is a cooked paste of flour and fat (butter, oil, lard, shortening) used to thicken sauces and other liquid mixtures like stews and soups. A béchamel sauce is a special sauce that whisks a hot roux into milk.
Roux is French for “red,” which refers to the color when you cook the flour before adding it to your liquid. The longer the roux cooks, the darker it gets — and the less thickening power it has. Thats because starches burn once they reach a specific temperature, causing them to break down. So, in general, you want to cook your roux only until it reaches its desired color (from blond to dark brown), then add your liquid.
Béchamel sauce is also known as a white sauce or cream sauce (even though it is not made with cream). It is typically caused by adding hot milk to a blond roux (cooked just long enough to remove the raw flavor of the flour). It can be thin or thick depending on how much roux you use — which itself depends on what youre doing with the finished sauce. For example, béchamel is one of three parts.
There are lots of reasons you might want to freeze bechamel sauce. You can buy a big bag of flour or a box of pasta, but you can buy a good-quality package of bechamel. Instead, you can make a big batch and freeze some for later use.
Yes, you can freeze bechamel sauce. I recommend you freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag or container. Then you can easily pop out just the amount of bechamel you need for each recipe.
When you want to use your frozen bechamel, remove the cubes from the freezer bag or container and place them in a pan over low heat. Stir frequently as the cubes thaw, keeping them from clumping up as they melt.
You can use almost any kind of cheese in a Bechamel or Mornay. Still, youd be wise to avoid very strong-flavored cheeses like Roquefort or the Bechamel won’t taste like anything but cheese, not that theres anything wrong with that sauce.
Bechamel sauce is popularly known as white sauce. It is a milk-based sauce. However, you can make it with water if you dont have milk. The only difference will be in the taste. Milk has a rich and creamy taste that adds flavor to the sauce.
You can use any cheese in this basic bechamel recipe except feta cheese because it has too much moisture content (which will make your white sauce more liquid). For example, parmesan cheese has been aged for at least 3 months before using it in your dish, so if you want something…
Béchamel sauce is one of the five mother sauces in French cuisine and is used as the base for other sauces (such as Mornay sauce), soups, gratins, and casseroles. It is typically made by melting butter, adding flour to make a roux, and then cooking with milk.
Béchamel sauce is traditionally served with white asparagus and potatoes. It can be used in lasagne and Greek pastitsio. In Greece, it is commonly used on baked meatballs (keftedes). In Italy, it is a critical ingredient in Neapolitan ragù. In Poland, the dish is known as placki ziemniaczane (“potato pancakes””) used as a topping along with cheese or ketchup.
Béchamel can be used in quiches and gratins to bind ingredients together and thicken the dish. Some restaurants will use béchamel to give body to cream-based soups. The sauce can also cook vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower. It can also be used as the base in making croquettes.
The popularity of Béchamel sauce has spread far and wide, and today there are many variations on this sauce found throughout the world.
In the UK and Ireland, it is commonly used to make white sauce, generally served with cauliflower cheese, lasagne, and moussaka. It may also form part of a cheese sauce for dishes such as macaroni cheese.
A roux is a mixture of (usually) equal quantities of flour and butter that’s used as a thickening agent in sauces. A béchamel is a sauce made using a roux with the addition of (usually) milk.
If you enjoy making your pasta sauces, try a béchamel recipe at home. You may be surprised at how easy it is to make this flavorful sauce!
Béchamel is often used in some classic dishes, such as lasagna and macaroni and cheese. It is also used for soufflés, gratins and casseroles.
Béchamel is a variation of white sauce made from butter and flour. The two are not the same, however. Béchamel is typically made with warmed milk added to the roux, but the milk used can vary greatly. It can be thick or thin, making it suitable for use in soups and lasagna, and over meats.
You can use almost any kind of cheese in a Bechamel or Mornay. Still, youd be wise to avoid very strong-flavored cheeses like Roquefort or the Bechamel won’t taste like anything but cheese, not that theres anything wrong with that sauce.
Bechamel sauce aims to provide a relatively light, creamy liquid to combine with other ingredients. The original purpose of the mother sauces was to create a solid foundation for different sauces.
One of the best things you can make with a roux is béchamel, one of the five mother sauces. Kitchn states that béchamel, also called white sauce, is perhaps the most common. Its made simply by combining a white roux with milk. Its popularity should be apparent once you realize its affinity for combining with cheese, whether its on the way to making a creamy mac and cheese, or in a classic lasagna.
A roux is incredibly useful, and though simple to make, it requires time and attention. According to Bon Appétit, its made by mixing equal parts flour with a type of fat, usually oil or butter. The mixture is then cooked and used to thicken everything from sauces to soups. Beyond thickening and adding a smooth texture, a roux can form the base for holding ingredients together in a coherent final product, which is why its the basis for many French mother sauces. One example is velouté, which Saveur states is a roux of flour and butter blended with fish or chicken stock. Its also the same way you make a gravy, or roux mixed with fond and stock or milk. (We told you this was essential.)
From there, its off to the races. According to The Spruce Eats, you can make a Mornay sauce by combining béchamel with gruyère and parmesan, and you will want to use it on everything from broccoli to chicken. Food52 notes you can add Dijon and make yourself a tangy, smooth mustard sauce. The best use for béchamel? In our humble opinion, its the croque monsieur, where the sauce gets cooked both with cheese, and on top of the sandwich, for some bubbling, browned, creamy perfection. There is a reason we all listen to the French vis-à-vis food.
The French cooking terms roux and béchamel get tossed around a lot in recipes without much explanation. Its an all-too-familiar problem for someone learning to cook that you stumble on a recipe that asks you to simply “make a roux” and then moves right on to tell you what you should do with it. Maybe youll get a few hints about what smells and consistencies to look for, but how often are they telling you why youre doing those things? You can follow the instructions, but without knowing what a roux or béchamel is, you may never quite grasp the ideal youre aiming for.
Roux and béchamel are base sauces in French cuisine that are foundational for anyone trying to understand Western cooking. As The Guardian reports, the French literally invented the European restaurant in the 18th century, and the skills and knowledge French chefs built through the professionalization of cooking spread throughout the continent. Roux and béchamel are important because they relate to the five mother sauces of French cuisine, which Food52 notes are the base sauces from which a massive variety of classic dishes spring. A roux isnt one of the five, but it is essential for producing most of them, so its a great place to start.
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FAQ
What’s the difference between a béchamel and a Mornay?
Why is béchamel used in lasagna?
What is the difference between béchamel and Roux?
Cooking terms can be stupidly confusing sometimes and if you have a recipe that calls for a béchamel or roux, you might wonder what the difference is. A roux is a mixture of (usually) equal quantities of flour and butter that’s used as a thickening agent in sauces. A béchamel is a sauce made using a roux with the addition of (usually) milk.
Why are Roux and béchamel important?
Roux and béchamel are important because they relate to the five mother sauces of French cuisine, which Food52 notes are the base sauces from which a massive variety of classic dishes spring. A roux isn’t one of the five, but it is essential for producing most of them, so it’s a great place to start. What is a roux?
Does white roux thicken better than béchamel?
White roux will thicken better but not add much flavor. A darker roux, like you might use in Cajun gumbo, will add a toasted flavor but won’t thicken as well because the extended cooking breaks down the starch too much. What is béchamel? One of the best things you can make with a roux is béchamel, one of the five mother sauces.
How do you make béchamel Roux?
Béchamel is thick, clinging to food in the way that a good sauce should—and it’s that roux we have to thank for that. The first step in making a béchamel is to create a roux, a mixture of flour and fat that acts as a thickening agent. (If you’ve made gravy on Thanksgiving, you’ve probably made a roux before.)