White sauces add rich flavor to ingredients

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My mother and grandma, who cooked for our family when I was growing up, never made creamed vegetables, although they did make a white sauce for leftover turkey or canned tuna, which was served on buttered toast.

My mom taught me how to make white sauce, and I am grateful as it is the basis for hundreds of dishes, including souffles.

In French cooking this sauce is called béchamel. In “The Food Lover’s Companion,” by Sharon Tyler Herbst, she gives the proportions for the thickness of the sauces. “A thin sauce takes 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour for 1 cup of milk; a medium sauce uses 2 tablespoons each of butter and flour; a thick sauce, 3 tablespoons of each.”

The mixture of flour and fat whisked together and slowly cooked over low heat is called a roux and may be white, blond or brown. The color and flavor is determined by the length of time the mixture is cooked. For a white sauce, the roux is cooked just until the flour and butter begin to bubble around the edges.

Brown roux may be made with butter, pork drippings, beef fat or lard. This is used in dark soups and sauces, especially in Cajun and Creole cooking.

For a smooth sauce it is necessary to warm the milk over low heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges. It is then removed from the heat and slowly whisked into the roux until it thickens.

For a cheese sauce, stir in a half-cup of grated cheese during the last two minutes of cooking. A pinch of cayenne pepper will add a little zip.

But I got carried away. I was going to cream some vegetables after I tasted Andrea Baumgardner’s creamed spinach at Café Muse. And so far I’ve creamed cooked artichoke hearts, asparagus, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, leeks, mushrooms, onions, peas, potatoes, shallots and spinach.

Sometimes I add two egg yolks to richen up the sauce. Some of the hot sauce must be first stirred into the yolks and then they are stirred into the sauce. I often add a grating of fresh nutmeg to the sauce.

At other times I add a half-cup of grated Cheddar, Swiss or Parmesan cheese. But not with the egg yolks. Creamed cooked shallots are a particular favorite of mine.

Another way of thickening is to add a slurry – a thin paste of water and flour that is stirred into hot liquid as a thickener. When the slurry is added, the mixture must be stirred and cooked for several minutes in order for the flour to cook.

Thin White Sauce

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Medium White Sauce

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Thick White Sauce

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Scald milk (heat on low until bubbles form at the edge). Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat (or use a double boiler). Add flour, stirring constantly for several minutes. Slowly stir in hot milk and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. If sauce has lumps, strain it. Season to taste.

Sources: “The New Food Lover’s Companion,” by Sharon Tyler Herbst; “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook,” revised by Marion Cunningham; www.epicurious.com

Readers can reach Forum food columnist Andrea Hunter Halgrimson at ahalgrimson@forumcomm.com

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