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White Béchamel Sauce

White Béchamel Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic thick white sauce made from milk and a butter and flour thickening flavoured with vegetables, herbs, nutmeg and black pepper. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: White Béchamel Sauce.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating:

Tags : Sauce RecipesVegetarian RecipesVegetable RecipesMilk RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of White Béchamel Sauce that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli' 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.

Original Recipe

No. 15.—WHITE BECHAMEL SAUCE

Put four ounces of flour into a stewpan with two ounces of fresh butter; knead these together smoothly by working them with a wooden spoon; next add an onion, a small carrot, half a head of celery, some parsley, a bayleaf, and thyme (the vegetables cut thin), a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt; moisten with a pint and a half of milk, stir the sauce over the fire while it boils sharply for twenty minutes; then strain it through a tammy cloth or pointed strainer into a basin—afterwards to be immediately removed into a convenient sized covered stewpan or bainmarie, for use.

Note.— allow me here to impress upon your minds how all-important it is that whenever you are stirring a sauce upon the fire, you must bear with some strength and a little tact on the edge of the bowl of the wooden spoon, so as to prevent the sauce from burning at the bottom of the stewpan while it is being reduced; for rest assured that whenever through negligence this occurs, the sauce is spoilt. These remarks apply more especially to such sauces as contain milk or cream.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

120g plain flour
60g butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 head of celery, thinly sliced
4 tbsp parsley
1 bayleaf
2 sprigs of thyme
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
a few twists of black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1l milk

Method:

Work together the flour and butter in a bowl until you have a smooth paste. Turn into a pan then add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bayleaf, thyme, salt and spices. Pour over the milk and work into the flour and butter mix.

Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling briskly for 20 minutes, stirring all the while (ensure you scrape the spoon over the entire base of the pan to prevent burning). Take off the heat then strain through a fine-meshed, pointed strainer or a tammy cloth. Turn into a bain-marie and keep warm until needed.

Find more of Charles Elmé Francatelli's Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here