White sauce (for lasagne) Qs and recipes

Stephen_Leak

WHITE SAUCE

Makes 250ml

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
250ml of milk

METHOD

Put the butter into a saucepan on a medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring all the time. Take off the heat. Add the milk a bit at a time. Stir each time to make sure it is smooth. When all the milk has been added, put the pan back on the heat. Bring to the boil. Keep stirring. Turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS

If the sauce is too thin, add a little bit more flour. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit more milk.

TIPS

The trick is to keep stirring.

CHEESE SAUCE

Makes 250ml

INGREDIENTS

35g of mature Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
250ml of milk
Ground pepper to taste

METHOD

Grate the cheese.

Put the butter into a saucepan on a medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring all the time. Take off the heat. Add the milk a bit at a time. Stir each time to make sure it is smooth. When all the milk has been added, put the pan back on the heat. Bring to the boil. Keep stirring. Turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

Take off the heat. Add the cheese to the sauce and mix. Continue to stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season with the pepper.

ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS

If the sauce is too thin, add a little bit more flour. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit more milk. Don’t forget that adding more cheese to improve the flavour will also thicken the sauce.

Use other full flavoured cheeses. Use ready grated cheese. Add 1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard.

TIPS

The trick is to keep stirring.

Paulie'sGirl

Hiya,

Just a tip, I like a sprinkle of nutmeg in the white sauce for lasagne (well, actually I prefer cheese sauce but OH doesn't eat cheese)

I also flavour the milk beforehand. I put it in the microwave in a Pyrex jug with a big slice of onion, a bayleaf and a few peppercorns. Makes a lovely sauce for with baked ham or cauliflower mornay and such.

PGxx

marywooyeah

hello everyone I am a regular lurker on the old style boards but am not sure if this is the right place to put this!
I scratch cook a lot to save money and make my own white sauce rather than spending a pound or so on a jar of it, but it's always lumpy!
I try adding more milk and it still ends up lumpy, I have non stick pans so can't use a metal whisk in it, I stir it with a wooden spoon like crazy but the lumps are still there!
can anyone advise me what I am doing wrong? thanks

Stephen_Leak

Nothing. I know professional chefs, who can't make white sauce for love nor money! It's one of those things, which isn't hard to get right, but is also all to easy to make a complete "pigs ear" of!

Try this one. I can't claim a 100% success rate, but it's been smooth more times than it's been lumpy.

WHITE SAUCE

Makes 250ml

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
250ml of milk

METHOD

Put the butter into a saucepan on a medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring all the time. Take off the heat. Add the milk a bit at a time. Stir each time to make sure it is smooth. When all the milk has been added, put the pan back on the heat. Bring to the boil. Keep stirring. Turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS

If the sauce is too thin, add a little bit more flour. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit more milk.

TIPS

The trick is to keep stirring.

ira.hath

You can get non metal whisks to use in non-stick pans, and at heat. I know Ikea definitely sell them as my house mate used to have one and all her kitchen stuff came from there.

I find that lots of whisking and heat gets rid of most lumps, but I'm not sure I've ever had a proper completely lump free sauce ever!

Stephen_Leak

Using the back of a wooden spoon usually works for me, as it sort of squashes the - inevitable - lumps flat.

Beebop

There is the all in one method - put butter, flour and milk into pan all together (sorry I never weigh anything so can't give quantities!) put heat on, keep stirring and voila - you should have a lump free sauce......
I always use a non stick whisk in my non stick pan and haven't had lumps yet!
Hope that helps.

psso

If you can`t get it lump free you could always pass it through a strainer

ubamother

Hot milk is my secret - I heat the milk while making the roux to nearing boiling point, then add bit by bit - I get a much more silken sauce this way.. Cooking the butter/flour roux properly helps too, nice and gently for some minutes until it gets a weird whitish bubble effect coming on on its top - much easier to see than explain! Not many lumps will survive a liquidiser/hand blender or sieve though and we've all done it in our time!

vitamin_joe

make the roux, and then add a tiny amount of milk, stir it in. then add another tiny amount of milk. This is the crucial point, when you are gradually turning the paste into a liquid. Keep adding the milk in slightly greater amounts each time, and keep stirring. When the roux is becoming a consistent liquid, you can add a lot more milk each time.

In my experience, the time when you form lumps is the point at which you are turning the roux into a liquid, so this is when you must take the most care.

the other advice is good too. this one has always worked for me, but try out the different methods and see what works for you