Why Learn to Make Béchamel?
Béchamel, an important foundational sauce for cooking, can be tweaked for a variety of dishes. The creamy, thickening base adds flavor and moisture to casseroles or serves as a topping for meat or vegetables. Once mastered, béchamel lets you whip up an impressive sauce using standard kitchen ingredients in minutes.
Béchamel at a Glance
Roux: Béchamel starts with a roux, a sauce-thickening and flavoring agent of equal parts flour and fat. There are four types of roux based on color, which deepens with the cooking time: white, blond, brown and dark brown. Warm milk gets added to white roux to create béchamel.
Béchamel: The sauce, traditionally made in a heavy saucepan, starts by cooking and stirring equal parts butter and flour into a paste (a roux). Warm milk and seasoning are then whisked into the roux. Some sauces may also include eggs.
Mornay Sauce: The béchamel is kept on low heat, and grated cheese—Gruyère, Emmental or white Cheddar—is stirred in until melted to make a smooth, creamy cheese sauce.
Béchamel & Beyond
Béchamel, a grand or mother sauce, gives birth to smaller or daughter sauces when other ingredients are added. Learn how to transform Classic Béchamel into a variety of sauces.
