Sauce Béchamel

the classic French white sauce of milk infused with bay, onion, and clove, then thickened with a butter-and-flour roux and seasoned with nutmeg, one of the mother sauces of French cooking

Origin: France

From the journey of Bay Leaf.

Béchamel is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine, the smooth white sauce from which a whole family of others descends, and the bay leaf is the quiet key to its character. The secret of a good béchamel is not merely the roux of butter and flour that thickens it but the infusion that flavours the milk: before the milk ever meets the roux, it is warmed gently with a bay leaf, a few slices of onion (or a whole onion studded with cloves, the onion piqué), and perhaps a blade of mace, so that it takes up a soft, savoury, aromatic depth. The infused milk is then strained and whisked into the pale roux, cooked out until thick and glossy, and seasoned with salt, white pepper, and the classic grating of nutmeg. The result is the foundation of gratins and lasagne, of croque-monsieur and moussaka, of soufflés and creamed dishes without number, and the base of the derived sauces, Mornay with cheese, soubise with onion. It is a sauce in which the bay leaf is never seen and never tasted directly, yet without its infusion the milk, and the sauce, would be the poorer.

Ingredients

The Infused Milk

600 ml whole milk
1 bay leaf
0.5 onion, peeled
3 whole cloves (to stud the onion)

The Roux

50 g butter
50 g plain flour

To Season

0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
salt and white pepper, to taste

Method

Stud the onion half with the cloves. Put the milk, bay leaf, and clove-studded onion in a pan and warm gently to just below a simmer. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain.
In a separate heavy pan, melt the butter over a medium-low heat, then stir in the flour and cook the roux gently for 2 minutes, stirring, until it smells biscuity but has taken no colour.
Take the pan off the heat and add the warm infused milk a little at a time, whisking smooth after each addition before adding more.
Return to the heat and bring to a gentle simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Cook a few minutes more to lose any floury taste.
Season with salt, white pepper, and the grated nutmeg. Use at once, or press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming.

Notes

The onion piqué (onion studded with cloves and bay) is the traditional French way to infuse the milk; some cooks simply add a bay leaf and a slice of onion. The ratio of equal butter and flour to milk gives a medium pouring sauce; use less liquid for a thick sauce to bind a gratin or lasagne. Béchamel is the base for Mornay (with cheese), soubise (with onion), and many gratins.

The Gastrographer

Name: Sauce Béchamel
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 600 ml whole milk; 1 bay leaf; 0.5 onion, peeled; 3 whole cloves (to stud the onion); 50 g butter; 50 g plain flour; 0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; salt and white pepper, to taste

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control