Béchamel sauce
 Milk infusing with bay leaf, peppercorns, shallot and flat-leaf parsley prior to being added to the roux | |
| Alternative names | White sauce |
|---|---|
| Type | butter |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Tuscany |
| Main ingredients | butter, flour, milk |
| Variations | Mornay sauce |
Béchamel sauce (/ˌbeɪʃəˈmɛl/;[1] French: [beʃamɛl]), also known as white sauce, is made from a white roux (butter and flour) and milk. It has been considered, since the seventeenth century,[2][3] one of the mother sauces of French cuisine.[4] It is used as the base for other sauces (such as Mornay sauce, which is Béchamel with cheese).[5]
Origin
Balsamell or Besciamella is the Italian equivalent of the French Béchamel: a very simple white sauce of flour, butter and milk. The sauce was originally from renaissance Tuscany and was known as "Salsa Colla or Colletta" ("glue sauce") because of the gluey consistency of the sauce, and was brought to France by the chefs of Catherina de' Medici in 1533. Louis de Béchamel, Marquis de Nointel,[6] was a financier who held the honorary post of chief steward to King Louis XIV. This sauce was prominent in Italian cooking texts of the Renaissance as "salsa colla", but was renamed much later in Le Cuisinier François, published in 1651 by François Pierre La Varenne (1615–1678), chef de cuisine to Nicolas Chalon du Blé, marquis d'Uxelles. The foundation of French cuisine, the Cuisinier François ran through some thirty editions in seventy-five years.
The sauce originally was a veal velouté with a large amount of cream added.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Béchamel definition". Merriam-Webster.
- ^ François Marin, Les Dons de Comus, ou les Délices de la table, préface par les PP. Pierre Brumoy et G. H. Bougeant, Paris : Prault Fils, 1739, pp. 103 et seq.
- ^ M.C.D. Chef de Cuisine de M. le Prince de *** [i.e. Briand], Dictionnaire des alimens, vins et liqueurs, leurs qualités, leurs effets... avec la manière de les apprêter ancienne et moderne..., Paris : Gissey, 1750, 576 p., p. 34 et seq.
- ^ Michael Ruhlman, The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen, New York : Scribner, 2007, p. 171.
- ^ Delmy Dauenhauer, 10 Ways to Use Béchamel Sauce, London : SamEnrico, 2015, ISBN 9781505738384.
- ^ G. Dryansky, J. Dryansky - Coquilles, Calva, and Crème: Exploring France's Culinary Heritage: A Love Affair with French Food (search page) Open Road Media, 5 June 2012 Accessed November 21st. 2017
- ^ Larousse Gastronomique.
External links
- History and legends of Béchamel sauce
- Free Culinary School Video Episode 11 An educational podcast episode that talks about the classical French technique used for making Sauce Béchamel and a few secondary sauces including Mornay, Basic Cream, Cheddar Cheese and Mustard Sauce.
- . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.