Bechamel Idiosyncracies

[scott123]

The flour particles in roux, once added to the milk and brought to a certain temperature, will gelatinize. Simmering will cause these particles to swell/burst, creating a smoother sauce.

The question is, how much additional simmering is required to achieve this?

Experience has shown me that prolonged simmering gives milk a 'cooked' flavor, the extreme of which is evaporated milk. For this reason, I simmer my bechamel for no more than 5 minutes. For the many years I have been doing so, I have never found my bechamel to lack a smooth texture nor exhibit any flavor of raw flour.

From speaking with other chefs on the topic, I am finding that this is not the norm. A great number of them simmer their bechamel for 30 minutes or more.

Taking the roux out of the picture, a 30 minute simmer will adversely affect the flavor of milk, will it not?

It is my contention that a properly made roux, vigorous whisking and 5 minutes of simmering will produce a velvety smooth sauce every time.

[Carrot Top]

Tradition agrees with the chefs who do simmer for thirty minutes. That is the standard method taught in most culinary schools...supposedly the intent is to erase any floury taste in the sauce.

Could be my palate is not as distinguished as others (well, I am sure of this, often, actually, as so many things appeal to me that would not to a palate that claimed sophistication!) but I am in agreement with you. A much briefer simmering does it for me with the proviso that the batch being prepared be a small one. If one is making bechamel in a production kitchen, in a tilting stockpot, (which I have seen done) then the thirty minutes is definitely neccesary....

[chefdg]

Just the other night my wife and I were making dinner and she made a parmesan cheese sauce that was made from a bechamel (technically speaking a mornay sauce). While she thought the sauce was finished after about 5-8 mins of simmering all the ingredients I suggested that we add more milk and let it simmer for about 15 mins longer (mind you that the batch we were cooking yielded about 3 cups). The reason for this was the sauce tasted to me like raw dough, very floury to me but the wife couldn't taste it. After the 15 more minutes of simmering and stirring, the sauce then tasted like melted parmesan cheese, and nothing else, which is exactly the point. I don't feel five minutes is ever enough to get that flour taste out of the sauce, but thirty is only necessary in very large batches, as carrot top suggested.

[Carrot Top]

God that Mornay Sauce sounds gooooood.....

I guess the other part of this that should be addressed is the initial preparation of the roux.

If it is made in a nice heavy pan that conducts heat well...and if your stove can emit an extremely low heat...a lot of that floury taste can be slow-cooked out even before the milk is added. But if the pan is lighter and the stove less controllable (as is common in many home kitchens) the roux will start to color much more quickly.

I wish you hadn't said Parmesan flavor. Now I want to go make some chicken crepes mornay and I DON'T HAVE TIME TO!

[scott123]

If it is made in a nice heavy pan that conducts heat well...and if your stove can emit an extremely low heat...a lot of that floury taste can be slow-cooked out even before the milk is added. But if the pan is lighter and the stove less controllable (as is common in many home kitchens) the roux will start to color much more quickly.

You can also get a nice even color with a cheaper pan by adding more oil and stirring the roux vigorously to prevent the bottom from coloring before the top.

[scott123]

Chefdg, did your mornay begin with a blond roux?

For me, a blond roux is shortbread minus the sugar. I can smell the toasty shortbread notes as I stir it. Just as I get no uncooked floury taste while eating a shortbread cookie, I get that same flavor eating a blond roux (without being added to the liquid).

[chefdg]

Chefdg, did your mornay begin with a blond roux?

For me, a blond roux is shortbread minus the sugar.  I can smell the toasty shortbread notes as I stir it. Just as I get no uncooked floury taste while eating a shortbread cookie, I get that same flavor eating a blond roux (without being added to the liquid).

Yeah, with the addition of salt and cheese the raw flour flavor was very apparent. I hate to do it but I must brag a little about my wife and my cooking skills combined (sort of like wonder-twins). The finished dish was raviolis stuffed with the parmesan cheese sauce, and topped with bolognese, we were very satisfied, and thankful we didn't order out.