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34 votes
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Why should I cook the flour first when making bechamel sauce?

This link explains the science behind what is known as "the mother sauce", béchamel. Essentially, the steps of first creating a roux, then adding cold milk, are about manipulating the glucose chains ...
moscafj's user avatar
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14 votes

Why should I cook the flour first when making bechamel sauce?

Flour has to be cooked in any kind of fat, butter or oil to remove the rawness of the flour. If you don't roast and put all the ingredients straightway and cook for longer time, it would still work, ...
aashii's user avatar
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13 votes

Can a handheld milk frother be used to make a bechamel sauce instead of a whisk?

Answering for some additional information: Technically, you could use a milk frother for making bechamel, in the same sense that you could also use a pair of chopsticks or a large fork (I've done both,...
FuzzyChef's user avatar
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10 votes
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Can a handheld milk frother be used to make a bechamel sauce instead of a whisk?

I've never used anything other than a spatula for any 'roux'-type sauce. I'd think any hand-held milk frother would either be far too delicate or simply under-powered. The first round of milk addition ...
Tetsujin's user avatar
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9 votes

Why should I cook the flour first when making bechamel sauce?

It's very difficult to just mix flour with a liquid. It will set to the bottom of the sauce pan and clump when heated, unless you stir constantly. This is why you make a roux first, combining the ...
Gretel_f's user avatar
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8 votes
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Can you use the butter from frying onions to make the Bechamel for Soubise sauce?

I don't know specifically about using the butter to make soubise, but you can certainly make a bechamel sauce from the butter used in the frying. I have done so many times - usually for use in a pasta ...
bob1's user avatar
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6 votes
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When making bechamel, why does the roux need to be room temperature?

It doesn't need to be room temperature. All combinations of cold, warm or hot roux with cold, warm or hot milk work. The problem is that the whole process is somewhat finicky, and cooks need some ...
rumtscho's user avatar
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5 votes
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Is spaghetti and bechamel sauce an authentic Italian dish?

In Italy, besciamella is usually only used on pasta when it's going to be cooked in the oven: pasta al gratin, pasta al forno, or as part of lasagne. As for your question - is it authentic to just ...
Agos's user avatar
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5 votes

What is important to keep in mind when making a white sauce?

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, ...
Erica's user avatar
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4 votes

What's the purpose of nutmeg in mashed potatoes and white sauce?

From a taste point of view, it adds a wonderful warmth and an 'oomph' to potatoes which on their own are a bit ehh. Rather than being a 'modern' phenomenon, it may have grown out of simple regional ...
Djanga's user avatar
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3 votes

Is it difficult to make a béchamel sauce for 15 persons?

The only trick that I can think of when dealing with larger batches of béchamel is to use a wider pan on your widest burner. This gives you more space for spreading out the roux, so that you get it ...
Joe's user avatar
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3 votes

White sauce without roux

I saw this on another search and I will quickly add my 2 cents. Cornflour (corn starch) doesn't hold it's thickness as well over long periods of time in a warmer (think restaurant). The sauce breaks ...
Hmmm....'s user avatar
2 votes

Pasticcio vs Lasagna

I think the term is used differently in different regions. Italy has so many micro-cultures lumped together, each with a very unique food heritage. When I lived in Venezia (Venice), no one used the ...
Kusuma Sparks's user avatar
2 votes

Can you add cheese to a veloute?

By coincidence, last night I made a soup involving stock, potatoes, and aged Irish cheddar cheese. While the recipe had milk, it was added after the cheese was completely melted. The cheddar melted ...
FuzzyChef's user avatar
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2 votes

Can you add cheese to a veloute?

You don't need milk. There are two common ways to help prevent the sauce from splitting on you -- starch (used in mornay), and acid. When Alton Brown did his "Good Eats: Reloaded", he ...
Joe's user avatar
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2 votes
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Can self-raising flour be used in lieu of plain flour when making a roux for a bechamel?

Since you will only be using 1.5 tablespoon of flour for more than a cup of milk, it shouldn't impact the flavor. Also as there is no salt in the Sainsbury Self-raising flour, you will not need to ...
user29568's user avatar
  • 408
1 vote

Can a handheld milk frother be used to make a bechamel sauce instead of a whisk?

One thing worth noting is that such frothers (at least from my experiments) struggle with thicker liquids. I have one, and have enjoyed frothing milk up. Then I thought: well surely it's going to be ...
JeopardyTempest's user avatar

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