Popular Sauce Recipes: Tips for Béchamel Sauce
One of the single most valued sauce recipes is the Béchamel Sauce; making it one of the most popular sauce recipes available. Quite simply a basic French white sauce, it is considered a ‘mother’ sauce amongst European chefs.
Being cost-effective, it’s recipe consists of kitchen staples; equal amounts of butter, flour, milk and seasoning such as white pepper and nut meg. You can always add extra flavor by infusing with various ingredients such as celery or onion.
Béchamel forms the basis of numerous other sauces, and most surprisingly, it takes only 25-30 minutes to create.
Origins
During the reign of Louis XIV in France, 1650; Béchamel sauce was first invented. Prepared by cooking veal stock, milk and seasonings over a low heat, followed by straining the sauce through a sieve and finally, adding cream.
As the sauce evolved, a later version saw a basis of a white ‘roux’ – a butter and flour mix – have milk, salt, pepper and onion added to the mixture. This continued to be cooked slowly, on a low heat for 20 minutes.
Tips and Tricks
The key to success with any sauce, Béchamel or not; is not to rush; take your time and really attend to the process.
Another great tip is to make sure to sieve it well in the final stage; lumps and bumps can ruin a meal, so make sure it is smooth and perfect before serving or storing.
Remember that the Béchamel recipe is highly adaptable to your personal preferences; the thickness of the sauce will depend on how much flour and butter is used. The greater quantities used, the thicker the sauce will be. For a thin and runny sauce, use one tablespoon of both butter and flour, whilst for a thicker sauce, for example – to use in croquettes – use three tablespoons of both.
Preparation Methods
There are generally two methods in which to produce Béchamel sauce; the first is perfect for speed and ease. It is simply preparing a roux – as mentioned above – and whisking in milk. Perfect for mid-week meals when time is of the essence.
Alternatively, you can take the more traditional route; it is far more traditional and takes time and attention. Here you incorporate vegetables and slowly simmer the mixture for around 30 minutes.
When complete, you can chose to use the sauce then and there – either to accompany a meal or as the basis of a dish such as Macaroni Cheese.
Alternatively, you can store the sauce in the fridge for up to two days.
Tip: If you are planning on storing the sauce; why not make a larger batch to be more economical.
About the author: Francesca Rilotelli is a writer and fan of the popular sauce recipe.
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