Homemade creamy basic white sauce ( Béchamel ) is a staple in my freezer at home. When I make the white sauce, I always make a sufficient amount at one time. Except for the amount I consume that day, I freeze the rest or vacuum pack it in a glass jar for later use. It can be used for a variety of dishes. Examples are creamy bacon pasta, Turkey shepherd’s pie, mushroom sausage risotto, or white sauce pasta. It can be quickly and magically transformed into delicious dishes.
White sauce recipe:
Handmade white sauce made with butter, all purples flour, and milk that’s a smooth texture and pleasant flavor. My recipe also adds bay leaf and nutmeg powder to make this white sauce richer and more aromatic. It’s especially important to note that when adding the flour, it must be mixed with the butter in batches and the rest of the flour is added when it’s even so that the sauce is uniform and doesn’t clump together.
What do you need:
- Butter – Salted or unsalted butter may be used. It’s best if it doesn’t have a peculiar odor, otherwise, the white sauce will smell bad after cooking.
- All-purpose flour – Low gluten or all-purpose flour works well.
- Salt – To season to taste.
- Milk – It’s recommended to use whole milk to give the white sauce a stronger flavor.
- Bay leaf – Adds a strong flavor to the sauce.
- Black pepper – For seasoning.
- Nutmeg powder – For more flavor and rich aroma. But if you don’t have it, you can leave it out.
How to store leftover butter?
- This is the little trick that I want to share with you. Since the butter sold in the market is very large, it cannot be consumed all at once. Therefore, every time I buy it, I cut it into 4 pieces of the same size. Then I wrap them in aluminum foil and put them in a zipper-lock bag or sealed container.
- Although you can store them in the freezer, the freezer picks up odors more easily than expected. And butter is a food that absorbs odors all at once, so be extra careful.
2 ways to store extra portions
- When freezing, pay attention to the convenience of use, try to divide it into small bags and freeze them so that the thawing is fast and the ingredients aren’t easily damaged.
Divide the amount to be used at one time into a small zipper bag. Remove the air as best you can and keep the bag tightly sealed. If you don’t want the flavor of the sauce to be affected, you can use double-layered bags for safety.
Air should be removed when sealing, because if the food contains air, it’ll be easily dried and oxidized, and the taste and freshness will be affected. Also, it’s essential to avoid refreezing thawed food, because then it’ll taste really bad. - Vacuum seal
White sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for months. As long as you know how to vacuum pack it. And it only takes less than 10 minutes. You’ll learn how in this blog: How To Vacuum Seal Homemade Jams In A Jar.
Other sauces you should try:
You may be interested in how to make alfredo sauce and what the difference is between white sauce and alfredo sauce. You can visit this blog: How to make an alfredo sauce from scratch.
Below you’ll find some sauces that you should try. You can make an extra portion of each sauce, put it in a bottle and freeze it. In this way, you can cook them whenever you want.
Marinara Sauce With Fresh Tomatoes (Italian Tomato Sauce)
Beef Gravy
10 Best Chinese Stir Fry Sauce
10 Chinese Chicken Sauces – Keto Dinner Ideas
Alfredo Sauce – Cheezy & Garlicky
Watch how to make:
Ingredients
- 80 g butter
- 80 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1000 ml milk
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch black pepper
- pinch nutmeg powder, (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a pan over low heat, or it'll burn easily.
- Add the flour in batches so it mixes better and doesn't clump.
- After frying until the flour has taken on a light color, add the milk in batches so that it's evenly distributed.
- Add the salt, black pepper, bay leaf, and nutmeg powder until the sauce is smooth and bubbles form in the center.
- Don't forget to stir and cook it for 1-2 minutes. Then let it cool before you pack it separately.
- Make sure you only cook the sauce over low heat, otherwise it can burn easily.
Leave a Reply