📋How to make a white roux and bechamel sauce
White roux is a basic of French cuisine, a fundamental element in many dishes and mother sauces like Bechamel. This simple roux recipe and bechamel sauce is used as a thickening agent for sauces, soups, and stews.
Servings 1 cup
Calories 14kcal
Ingredients
Bechamel sauce
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- salt & pepper
Instructions
White roux
- Melt the unsalted butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat.2 tablespoon butter
- Once the butter has melted, add the flour to the pan.2 tablespoon flour
- Using a whisk, stir the butter and flour constantly for about 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent the mixture from burning.
- Continue stirring the mixture for another 2-3 minutes, until it turns a pale yellow color.
Bechamel sauce
- Remove from the heat and gradually add the warm milk making sure no lumps are formed.1 ¼ cup milk
- Put back on the heat and bring to boil stirring constantly.
- Lower the heat and keep stirring, till it reaches the right consistency.
- Add salt and nutmeg at the end.1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg, salt & pepper
Notes
- The key to making a good white roux is to stir the mixture constantly to prevent it from burning and to make a smooth sauce
- Do not reduce the minutes of cooking, or your sauce will have the raw flavor of the flour
- When making white roux, it's important to use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in your recipe.
- You can also use other types of fat, such as vegetable oil or animal fat, instead of butter. However, butter is the most commonly used fat.
- If you reduce the ratio of flour vs butter, you will have a less thickening power
- When using white roux as a thickening agent, it is important to whisk the mixture constantly to prevent clumps from forming.
- It is also important to cook the roux over low heat to prevent it from burning.
- White roux has a subtle flavor that does not overpower other ingredients, making it a great choice for sauces and gravies
Nutrition
Calories: 14kcal | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 13mg | Vitamin A: 40IU | Calcium: 11mg