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Béchamel Sauce

A classic French white sauce made with roux, milk, and seasonings.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Béchamel Sauce

4 cups
Time15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Infuse the milk

  1. Put the milk into a saucepan and place on the hob.

  2. Add the onion or shallot, the bouquet garni, peppercorns, mace, and bay leaf.

  3. Bring to a boil.

Make the roux

  1. In another saucepan, melt the butter.

  2. Stir in the flour.

  3. Cook a little without browning to make a roux.

  4. Stir in the hot milk mixture.

  5. Whisk over the heat until it boils.

Simmer and finish

  1. Bring down the temperature and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

  2. Strain and pass through a sieve or muslin.

  3. Return to the saucepan.

  4. Season lightly with ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp cayenne, and ½ tsp salt.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

782Calories
23 gProtein
22 gFat
122 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Thyme + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,907 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,171 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Plain flour
Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with butter as a roux.
Butter
Carries the flour into a roux and adds richness and a silky mouthfeel.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that gelatinises the starch into a pourable sauce, adding creaminess.
Onion or shallot
Adds a gentle savoury, aromatic sweetness that flavours the milk as it infuses.

The step that matters

Cooking the roux. Cooking the flour and butter briefly removes its raw taste and lets it thicken evenly. Stirring in the hot milk too quickly or without whisking can cause lumps, and the starch needs to reach a boil to reach full thickness.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, milk, parsley, thyme, nutmeg):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Parsnipfits better
  3. Leekfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, milk, parsley, thyme, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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