What are the two methods of making bechamel/ white sauce?
These are two of what are called the French “mother sauces” – so called because they form the basis for many, many other sauces. These two sauces are called “Bechamel” and Veloute.” They are each made by stirring a liquid into a flour and butter paste, called a “roux” (pronounced “roo”). You may notice, we’re talking THREE INGREDIENTS here! So, the sauces sound very elegant, but they are very simple. When milk is used as the liquid, the sauce is called “béchamel.” When the liquid is stock – it is always a light-colored veal or chicken stock, a court bouillon (vegetable stock), or fish fumet (fish stock) – the sauce is called “veloute.” Of course, because they are so simple, and do not include a potentially flavorful stock, béchamel sauces have very little flavor, so, in the French kitchen, some steps are often taken to make the basic flavor a little bit more interesting. These steps are described in the “COOKS NOTE” following the recipe. While veloutes are generally used as the startin
