Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel sauce is a classic French sauce that has been a staple in kitchens for centuries. It is a roux-based white sauce made with flour, butter, and milk. While it can be enjoyed by itself, it is more popularly used as the base for other sauces such as Mornay sauce or Soubise sauce.

History of Béchamel Sauce

There are various stories on the origin of the Béchamel sauce. One version is that this sauce was invented in Tuscany in the 16th century and then brought to France by Catherine de’ Medici. The sauce was known as ‘Salsa Colla’, which literally translates to ‘Glue Sauce’. This is basically because the sauce was used as a binding sauce for other ingredients at the time.

The other story, which is where the sauce gets it’s name is that Béchamel was invented by Louis de Béchamel, a French financier who lived in the 17th century. According to legend, Béchamel was a great lover of food, and he was known for hosting lavish banquets for his friends and associates. During one of these banquets, Béchamel wanted to create a sauce that was rich and creamy, but not too heavy. He experimented with various ingredients until he came up with the recipe for Béchamel sauce as we know it today. The first named Béchamel sauce recipe appears in ‘The Modern Cook’, a book published in 1733.

Consistency of Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel sauce is thick and creamy. However, by varying the ratio of roux to milk, the sauce can be make thicker or thinner as needed. The recipe below makes a Béchamel sauce with medium consistency. It covers a spoon with a thick layer, but if poured over a plate, it will spread out relatively thin. I find this consistency perfect for a gratin or a lasagna.

When a thicker Béchamel sauce is needed, the ratio of roux to milk needs to be increased. There are recipes which call for up to 250 grams of roux for every litre of milk. This will result in a very thick sauce which is usually used for baked dishes such as a classic Greek Moussaka.

How to prevent lumps from forming when making Béchamel sauce

When reading books and online articles, you can find various tips and tricks for how to prevent lumps when making a Béchamel sauce. Some say the roux needs to be cold and the milk needs to be warm. Others suggest that the milk needs to be cold when added to the hot roux. As you can see, these tips contradict each other in a way, and so I’ve always found this topic a bit confusing.

My favourite way to ensure that no lumps are formed in the sauce is to add the milk slowly, initially forming a thick paste and then diluting it further until all the paste is dissolved and the liquid is homogenous. The reason why I like this method (apart from the fact that it works consistently) is that I can easily understand why it works! By forming the thick paste initially, you can work through it with the whisk until all lumps are dissolved and the paste is smooth. This is easier than trying to dissolve lumps which are floating around in a lot of liquid. As more milk is added to the ‘paste’ it gets thinner and thinner until it gets to a point where it easily dissolves into the milk homogeneously.

One important thing to keep in mind when using this method is to make sure that the saucepan is off the heat when adding the milk and that the roux is not too hot. If you add a small amount of milk to a hot saucepan, you might burn the milk or the milk might split and curdle.

Passing the sauce through a sieve

Of course, if for some reason you still end up with a lumpy Béchamel sauce, you can always pass it through a fine sieve to get rid of the lumps. In fact, some chefs like to do this anyway, to always guarantee a smooth sauce. If doing this step, make sure to do it while the Béchamel sauce is still hot, otherwise it will be difficult to pass through the sieve since the sauce will thicken further when it cools down.

Storing Béchamel sauce

Béchamel sauce can be stored easily in the fridge for a few days. It can also be frozen for a few weeks. Before using a Béchamel sauce that has been stored in the fridge or the freezer, warm it up gently. By warming up the sauce, you will get rid of the thin film that usually forms on the top of the sauce when it cools. Also, when the sauce is warm, it is easier to work with because its consistency gets thinner again.

A good way to warm up Béchamel sauce is to do it in a bain-marie. You can also do it in a saucepan over very low heat. If you warm it up over a high heat, the sauce can either burn at the bottom of the pan or even worse, it could split.

Béchamel sauce variations

Béchamel sauce is a classic base sauce, which means that any variations to it are called by different names. For example if cheese is added to Béchamel sauce, it is called a Mornay sauce. If an onion puree is added, it is a Soubise sauce.

Lactose free Béchamel

Béchamel sauce can be modified to cater for lactose free intolerant consumers by using dairy-free milk alternatives like coconut milk, almond milk etc. Of course, by doing so, the flavour profile will be different, depending on the exact milk that you use. One important thing to consider is that the milk-alternative used is stabilised and does not break down when heated. Many of the dairy-free milks that are used for coffee-making have stabilisers added to them, which make them suitable for sauces. However, if using canned coconut milk for example, they need to be stabilised with an emulsifier such as lecithin and glice.