How did Bechamel Sauce originate?
Auguste Escoffier, a French chef is often known as the one who developed five mother sauces of French cuisine in the 1900s. In the Le Guide Culinaire, published by Escoffier in 1903, he introduced the five basic sauces as we know them today and explained how to prepare and use them.
These sauces are called mother sauces because they are the main sauces that give birth or form the basis of sauces of more complex origins. They can be called daughter sauces. They tend to be influenced by cultural traditions.
The five mother sauces are velvet, tomato, hollandaise, espagnole and bechamel sauce.
Ingredients you need to make Bechamel Sauce
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Place a saucepan on medium heat. Add butter and let it melt.
- Slowly start sprinkling the flour and beat constantly. Scrape the bottom so as not to burn. Cook butter and flour, until the smell of flour is gone and butter is fragrant. The colour of this white sauce should be slightly golden.
- Slowly add milk to the sauce, stirring constantly, until the lumps disappear. Boil to thicken the sauce to a near-desired consistency. Take it off the heat.
- To remove the lumps, strain the sauce through a thin strainer.
- Add salt and pepper as per the taste.
- Serve it with any of your favourite recipes.
Note: The sauce will thicken as it cools, so don't cook for too long. If the sauce is too thick, add warm milk and stir. If it's too thin, cook for longer.