Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Sauce béchamel is one of Escoffier’s 5 mother sauces. As such, it is the starting point or base recipe for a bunch of different creamy sauces. This sauce is also very similar to velouté, which is basically the same sauce but made with stock instead of milk. In this recipe, we will start by making a white roux, add dairy to it to make béchamel, and then add herb essence and fresh, chopped herbs to make sauce chivry, or herbal cream sauce.
In the making of bechamel, which is supposed to be white, the roux should not be cooked enough to color. Once it has had a chance to foam, it is ready for the addition of the milk. It is important to be attentive and keep stirring, if not constantly then very frequently. Both roux and milk are apt to scorch otherwise. Traditionally, the béchamel sauce is flavored with an onion pique. My preference is to pin a bay leaf to half an onion with the pointy end of two whole cloves. Slowly scald the milk with the onion piquet to infuse the milk with a little flavor before using it to make the sauce; or stew it in with the sauce as you mix milk with roux and allow it to thicken. This isn’t strictly necessary but it will help in producing a really nice, complex sauce.
This sauce and most sauces based on it are highly stable. They may be refrigerated or frozen, and brought back by heating carefully and adding a small amount of milk to bring the sauce to the desired consistency.
Makes about 3 cups.
Equipment:
• medium to large saucepan
• small saucepan
• small fine strainer
• metal spoon or small ladle, for pressing herb mass
• wire whisk (optional) or wooden spoon
• heatproof spatula
Ingredients:
Roux:
1 oz AP flour roughly 3 Tbsp
2 Tbsp butter 1 oz
Béchamel: Roux plus:
2 cup milk whole; optionally half heavy cream
1⁄4 tsp salt
2 ea cloves optional
1 ea bay leaf optional
1⁄2 ea onion optional
Chivry: Béchamel plus:
Herb essence:
1 cup dry white wine or 2/3 cup dry white vermouth
4 Tbsp fines herbes parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, thyme, minimal rosemary
2 Tbsp shallot minced
Added at end:
4 Tbsp fines herbes parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, thyme, minimal rosemary
2 Tbsp butter
a dash hot sauce
to taste salt and pepper
Procedure:
1. If the optional ingredients are to be used to flavour the béchamel, then stick the bay leaf to the onion with the cloves, and place it and the milk into the small saucepan, and place over low heat until the milk shimmers.
2. To make the herbal essence, chop up 4 Tbsp of fines herbes, or just tarragon, or herbs indicated by your particular use case.
3. Place the herbs and wine or vermouth into the small saucepan over medium heat, bring it to the boil, and let it simmer to reduce au sec, until about 3 Tbsp of liquid remains. Once this point is reached, take it off heat and hold it nearby until the time comes to use it.
4. To make the roux, melt the butter in the saucepan over medium-high heat, and then add the flour to the melted butter before it has much chance to bubble.
5. Stir the flour and butter together thoroughly, and continue to stir as the roux cooks. The mixture will become fluffy as the flour and butter cook. Let them bubble together for about two minutes, or until any color is seen on the edges or bottom.
6. Immediately take the roux off the heat and continue to stir, allowing the roux to cool slightly, so that it won’t continue to cook very much.
7. Pour in the milk in stages, omitting the onion bouquet, beating together the milk with the roux after each addition. If using cold milk, this step may be performed on the heat.
8. Return the sauce to the heat and simmer for about a short time, stirring constantly. The sauce should finish thickening, and it should not taste of raw flour.
9. Take the sauce off the fire. The béchamel sauce is finished at this point, and may be stored and used for whatever purpose. If you used half cream it might be called cream sauce, or sauce crème.
10.In order to make the chivry sauce, return the sauce to the heat and stir in the herb essence. Use a strainer and a spoon or ladle to press all the liquid out of the herb mass as possible.
11.Allow the sauce to cook for a minute or two, then add the butter and chopped herbs and remove from heat.
12.Mix everything together well and give it a dash of hot sauce.
13.Add the seasonings and fine-tune by tasting.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Sauce béchamel is one of Escoffier’s 5 mother sauces. As such, it is the starting point or base recipe for a bunch of different creamy sauces. This sauce is also very similar to velouté, which is basically the same sauce but made with stock instead of milk. In this recipe, we will start by making a white roux, add dairy to it to make béchamel, and then add herb essence and fresh, chopped herbs to make sauce chivry, or herbal cream sauce.
In the making of bechamel, which is supposed to be white, the roux should not be cooked enough to color. Once it has had a chance to foam, it is ready for the addition of the milk. It is important to be attentive and keep stirring, if not constantly then very frequently. Both roux and milk are apt to scorch otherwise. Traditionally, the béchamel sauce is flavored with an onion pique. My preference is to pin a bay leaf to half an onion with the pointy end of two whole cloves. Slowly scald the milk with the onion piquet to infuse the milk with a little flavor before using it to make the sauce; or stew it in with the sauce as you mix milk with roux and allow it to thicken. This isn’t strictly necessary but it will help in producing a really nice, complex sauce.
This sauce and most sauces based on it are highly stable. They may be refrigerated or frozen, and brought back by heating carefully and adding a small amount of milk to bring the sauce to the desired consistency.
Makes about 3 cups.
Equipment:
• medium to large saucepan
• small saucepan
• small fine strainer
• metal spoon or small ladle, for pressing herb mass
• wire whisk (optional) or wooden spoon
• heatproof spatula
Ingredients:
Roux:
1 oz AP flour roughly 3 Tbsp
2 Tbsp butter 1 oz
Béchamel: Roux plus:
2 cup milk whole; optionally half heavy cream
1⁄4 tsp salt
2 ea cloves optional
1 ea bay leaf optional
1⁄2 ea onion optional
Chivry: Béchamel plus:
Herb essence:
1 cup dry white wine or 2/3 cup dry white vermouth
4 Tbsp fines herbes parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, thyme, minimal rosemary
2 Tbsp shallot minced
Added at end:
4 Tbsp fines herbes parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, thyme, minimal rosemary
2 Tbsp butter
a dash hot sauce
to taste salt and pepper
Procedure:
1. If the optional ingredients are to be used to flavour the béchamel, then stick the bay leaf to the onion with the cloves, and place it and the milk into the small saucepan, and place over low heat until the milk shimmers.
2. To make the herbal essence, chop up 4 Tbsp of fines herbes, or just tarragon, or herbs indicated by your particular use case.
3. Place the herbs and wine or vermouth into the small saucepan over medium heat, bring it to the boil, and let it simmer to reduce au sec, until about 3 Tbsp of liquid remains. Once this point is reached, take it off heat and hold it nearby until the time comes to use it.
4. To make the roux, melt the butter in the saucepan over medium-high heat, and then add the flour to the melted butter before it has much chance to bubble.
5. Stir the flour and butter together thoroughly, and continue to stir as the roux cooks. The mixture will become fluffy as the flour and butter cook. Let them bubble together for about two minutes, or until any color is seen on the edges or bottom.
6. Immediately take the roux off the heat and continue to stir, allowing the roux to cool slightly, so that it won’t continue to cook very much.
7. Pour in the milk in stages, omitting the onion bouquet, beating together the milk with the roux after each addition. If using cold milk, this step may be performed on the heat.
8. Return the sauce to the heat and simmer for about a short time, stirring constantly. The sauce should finish thickening, and it should not taste of raw flour.
9. Take the sauce off the fire. The béchamel sauce is finished at this point, and may be stored and used for whatever purpose. If you used half cream it might be called cream sauce, or sauce crème.
10.In order to make the chivry sauce, return the sauce to the heat and stir in the herb essence. Use a strainer and a spoon or ladle to press all the liquid out of the herb mass as possible.
11.Allow the sauce to cook for a minute or two, then add the butter and chopped herbs and remove from heat.
12.Mix everything together well and give it a dash of hot sauce.
13.Add the seasonings and fine-tune by tasting.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
