What is important to keep in mind when making a white sauce?
White sauce is dairy based, but what is it exactly? What are the main ingredients? Is it thickened somehow or not? How thick should it be? Should it contain herbs or oil?
Best Answer
A white sauce, also known as Béchamel sauce, is butter, flour, and milk. The flour and butter are cooked together to make a roux, and that thickened base is thinned out with liquid (in this case, dairy) to make a sauce.
It can have different thicknesses depending on what you want to use it for — varying the ratio of roux to milk results in a thin, medium, or thick white sauce.
Béchamel is a "mother sauce," meaning it is the basis for many other recipes: you can add cheese, herbs, seasonings, etc., to create a variety of sauces. However, a basic white sauce just has salt and pepper (white pepper if you want to avoid dark flecks in the sauce).
Suggestions for the best way to make the sauce can be found in this related Q&A: What's the best way to make Béchamel sauce?
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If your bechamel sauce is turning lumpy while cooking, add ice-cold water instead of the next splash of milk and whisk like a banshee - it'll magically sort out the lumps!What texture should white sauce be?
Reduce the heat and simmer for three to four minutes, whisking frequently. The b\xe9chamel should have the consistency of a very thick sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste, and whisk well.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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