White Sauce (Béchamel)
from 1950 edition Betty Crocker Cookbook
White Sauce, or Béchamel, is one of the five mother sauces and is probably the simplest of the mother sauces because it doesn't require making stock. If you have milk, flour, and butter, you can make a very basic béchamel.
Béchamel is made by thickening hot milk with a simple white roux. The sauce is then flavored with onion, cloves, and nutmeg and simmered until it is creamy and velvety smooth. Béchamel is used as a base for many other sauces. See below for some variations.
In the Betty Crocker 1950 cookbook, she lists three versions of the the sauce: thin, medium, and thick. A thin white sauce is used for soups and thin sauces. A medium white sauce is used in gravies, over vegetables, and in thicker sauces. A thick sauce is used for croquettes and souffles.
Béchamel can be used as an ingredient in baked pasta recipes like lasagna, and also in casseroles. But it's also the basis for some of the most common white sauces, cream sauces and cheese-based sauces.
|
Thin Sauce 1 tablespoons butter |
Medium Sauce 2 - 3 T. butter |
Thick Sauce 4 tablespoons butter |
Melt the butter over low heat. Blend in the flour and seasonings and cook over low heat until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Whisk in the milk. Cook until thickened.
Variations from Betty Crocker:
Lemon Cream Sauce - To make a lemony cream sauce for steamed vegetables, such as Brussel Sprouts or asparagus, add 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice to the sauce once it has thickened.
Cheese Sauce - for vegetables, macaroni, and egg dishes. Add 1/4 tsp. dry mustard with the seasonings. Blend in 1/2 to 1 cup grated nippy American cheese or sharp Cheddar cheese. Stir until melted.
Parmesan Cheese Sauce - Blend in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted.
Mock Hollandiase Sauce - After removing the sauce from the heat, beat in 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten. Gradually beat in 2 Tbsp. melted butter, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne. Serve at once.
Other Variations:
Here are some of the small sauces ("small" indicating it is a derivation) made from béchamel:
Crème sauce (heavy cream)
Mustard Creme sauce (prepared mustard, heavy cream)
Nantua sauce - a classic seafood sauce, made by incorporating shrimp butter and cream into a basic Béchamel sauce. Traditionally, however, it is made with crayfish. The Nantua sauce is delicious with fish and seafood, especially shellfish. Shrimp butter is made by incorporating pureed cooked shrimp into butter.
Cheddar Cheese sauce - cheddar cheese, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce. Add ½ cup grated cheddar cheese, ¼ teaspoon mustard powder and 1½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce to two cups of béchamel. Stir until the cheese has melted.
Mornay Sauce - Gruyere and Parmesan added in equal amounts
Gorgonzola Creme Sauce (heavy creme, gorgonzola, romano cheese)
Soubise Sauce - finely diced onions that have been sweated in butter. It's an excellent accompaniment for vegetables, eggs or chicken, or as a base for making casseroles.
