Bechamel

Bechamel or white sauce is one of the most famous French cuisine sauces. Due to his matchless aroma and exquisite taste, he won the hearts of not only the French. He conquered the whole of Europe: the restaurants of leading European countries traditionally use it both as an independent product and as a basic basis for other sauces. Undoubtedly, he is the real pride of the French. Light, delicate, aromatic, combined with almost any dish, it can rightly be called an aristocratic sauce and be proud of its noble origin. Although the Italian gourmets still consider him their brainchild and are ready to challenge the right of primacy in France.

A bit of history

However, the claims of the Italians are not based on a mere assertion. One of the versions of the origin of this exquisite dish indicates that the young Catherine de Medici, the future wife of French King Henry II, brought the sauce with her to France. At fourteen she left sunny Florence to become a great queen.

The wedding feast, which lasted more than a month, was served by both French and Italian chefs brought with them by the young bride of the king. It was there that the Italian sauce was first served, which later in France began to bear the name Bechamel. In Italy, long before that, he was called balsamella. And the recipes of these two dishes are surprisingly similar to each other.

The French do not give the palm, insisting that they have as many as two versions of the appearance of this product.

According to one of them, the sauce recipe was opened by Louis de Bechamel by the Marquis de Nuantel, who at that time was the manager at the court of the legendary French King Louis XIV. The story tells that the Marquis slightly modified the popular velut sauce at that time, while receiving a completely different product, which is remarkably appealing to fish dishes, which he also intended to get seasoning for. The resulting tasty and fragrant sauce happy Marquis called his name. However, such a manipulation with the components of dishes could only be carried out by a person who has a delicate feeling and has an exquisite culinary taste. The story is silent about the fact that Louis de Bechamel owned such abilities. It remains only to mention his compatriot Count D’Escar in which he complains that in his life he did not manage to call even the simplest dish in his life, unlike the lucky Bechamel.

Another version tells that the secret of making this sauce belongs to the famous chef of the sun king Louis XIV, François Pierre de la Varenne. Many historical studies attribute to him the fact of using a thickener roux, made from flour fried in butter until golden brown, in this sauce. Previously, only softened bread crumb was used for this. Well, having named the dish in honor of his contemporary Louis Bechamel, de la Varennes apparently in this way thanked the Marquis for something, or just wanted to curry favor with him.

Undoubtedly, the French are proud that such a matchless sauce was born in their country. In addition to those two stories, another famous French name is inextricably associated with it. This is Philippe du Plessis Morne, governor of Saumur. Some historical facts ascribe to him not only the invention of bechamel, but also other equally famous sauces:

• chasseur;
• the port;
• morne;
• Lyon sauce.

The heyday of cookery in the 17-18 centuries led to the fact that bechamel got many variations. Each cook wanted to add something new to the recipe of this dish, thanks to which they added more and more different ingredients. This continued until culinary delights in the royal kitchen became the head of the famous chef Marie-Antoine Carr, who became one of the first residents of high cuisine. Under his leadership, all the extra ingredients were removed and bechamel received the composition of the products by which he is known to this day.

The composition and types of sauce

Classic bechamel is prepared on the basis of ru and cream. Thickener ru consists of flour fried in butter until golden brown. Currently, instead of cream, you can use various types of milk. Flour and butter are mixed in equal proportions and cream is gradually added. They need to be used based on the density of the sauce that you want to get. Bechamel can be of medium density, liquid, and also represent a thick viscous mass.

Bechamel is one of the five classic French sauces, on the basis of which they prepare various variations or get completely new liquid seasonings. Various spices, broths, herbs and spices are often added here. Here are some types of sauces made on the basis of bechamel:

• Morne (mornay) – prepared with the addition of grated parmesan, gruyere and fish broth, served with seafood and vegetables;
• Nantua (nantua) – prepared with the addition of crab meat, served with seafood;
• subiz (soubise) – prepared with the addition of chopped onion, well suited to fish dishes and poultry.

Chemical composition and nutritional value

The energy value of white sauce is 59,8 kcal. Protein contains about 1 gram, fat – 4,4 grams, and carbohydrates ‒ 3,58 grams. The composition of bechamel contains the content of saturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, water, ash, as well as vitamins and minerals. The vitamin composition is revealed by vitamin E (about 1,2 mg), thiamine (about 0,01 mg), riboflavin (0,02 mg) and vitamin PP (about 0,2 mg).

The mineral composition is represented by sodium (411 mg), potassium (25 mg), phosphorus (83 mg), magnesium (6 mg), calcium (14 mg) and iron (0,2 mg). Dietary fiber is about 0,4 grams, water – 89,1 grams and ash – 1,6 grams. Saturated fatty acids account for about 0,9 grams.

Benefits of Bechamel

Components that make up the classic sauce have valuable and useful properties for the human body. They contain a wonderful vitamin complex and mineral composition necessary for health.

Since bechamel is essentially a mixture of butter, wheat flour and dairy products, its use:

• improves vision;
• regulates hormones;
• improves skin and hair condition;
• charges the body with energy and vigor;
• increases performance and craving for creativity;
• has antifungal effect;
• improves the protective properties of the body;
• increases immunity;
• normalizes and improves brain function;
• saturates the body with calcium and protein;
• has antiviral properties;
• improves the functioning of the nervous system;
• serves as a prevention of depression and nervous disorders.

All this happens with the help of nutrients that make up its ingredients. Wheat flour, for example, is a rich source of fiber and carbohydrates. Thanks to her, the sauce becomes very nutritious and satisfying.

To make bechamel, rye, buckwheat, and oatmeal can also be used. But preference is given to the second-grade wheat product, as it is more valuable and useful.

Butter contains such a valuable component as lauric acid, through which the body is able to fight various fungal diseases. Well, milk, of course, is simply a store of calcium and protein, so necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

But here it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that during the heat treatment of its constituents their valuable and healing properties are slightly reduced. But certainly the taste of the dish is improving.

Harmful and dangerous properties

The harmful properties of this sauce, as well as useful ones, directly depend on the products included in its composition. If you use premium wheat flour for cooking, then synthetic preservatives included in it will fall into bechamel, and the calorie content of the final product will also increase, which will undoubtedly entail an uncontrolled gain in body weight.

Also, the frequent use of butter can lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of extra pounds. And it also contains harmful cholesterol, which accumulates in large quantities in the human body, which leads to the development of a disease such as atherosclerosis.

Some people have a congenital allergy to milk and dairy products, or lactose intolerance. For them, bechamel sauce is contraindicated categorically. It is also dangerous for the older generation, since milk contains bad cholesterol, the use of which leads to atherosclerotic conditions.

Classic sauce recipe

To make bechamel, you will need:

• butter – 50 grams;
• wheat flour – 50 grams;
• salt – 1 pinch;
• milk or 10% cream – 800 ml;
• nutmeg – 1 teaspoon.

Melt the butter in a gravy boat. Slowly add flour there. Stir over low heat until smooth until flour turns golden. Then pour in a thin stream hot, but not boiled milk into the resulting mass. This should be done constantly stirring so that lumps do not form in the process. At the very end of cooking, add a spoonful of nutmeg and a little salt to the sauce. Mix everything thoroughly and remove the gravy boat from the heat.

Bechamel and mayo

Oddly enough, in Russia they often confuse bechamel and mayonnaise. Although these two sauces are similar to each other only in antiquity and milky color. They are completely different from each other in terms of both composition and scope.

European countries, and especially Italy and France will never allow themselves to do this. It is impossible to find a single Frenchman or Italian who would consider these two sauces interchangeable. Everyone knows that mayonnaise serves to refuel cold dishes, and bechamel is used with hot dishes. In France, it is unacceptable to bake or stew dishes using mayonnaise; only white sauce is used for this.

If you try to use rather interesting bechamel instead of the usual mayonnaise, you can immediately notice how the taste of dishes will change for the better. After all, white sauce, in contrast to its more simple fellow, is easy to add with various components in the form of spices and spices, changing its taste.

Conclusions

Bechamel is an exquisite French sauce that came to us from the distant 18th century, but has not lost its popularity so far. In Italian and French cuisine, he deservedly occupies one of the leading places, thanks to his taste and healthy qualities. This sauce is very well suited to meat, fish, vegetable dishes. It goes well with pasta and eggs. This is a universal seasoning, it is served both hot and cold, but preference is given to the heated product. Thanks to the ingredients included in its composition, bechamel has beneficial properties for the organism, but its contraindications are caused by the same. Eating this white sauce enhances immunity, improves vision, charges the body with energy and vigor, improves sleep and fights depression. Beshamel also has antiviral properties and has antifungal effect. It is not recommended to use this sauce for older people, as there may be a risk of atherosclerotic conditions. It is also contraindicated for people with lactose deficiency or allergies to milk and dairy products. In general, the main task of any sauce is to improve the taste of different dishes, disguise their shortcomings and enhance the merits. With all these tasks bechamel copes.