Béchamel (besciamella)
Italian white sauce, besciamella, made from a pale butter-and-flour roux and hot whole milk in a 1 : 1 : 10 ratio, seasoned with salt and nutmeg; the base for lasagne and baked pasta. Following the classic Italian method; about 0.5 kg, 4 servings.
Total time: 20 min4 servingsFinal yield 540 g
Ingredients
- 500 mlMilk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D
- 50 gButter, without salt
- 50 gWheat flour, white, all-purpose, unenriched
- 3 gSalt, table
- 0.2 gSpices, nutmeg, ground
Allergens
Contains: Gluten, Milk
Derived from ingredients – check the package label.
Method
- Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is hot and small bubbles form at the edge; do not let it boil.
- In another heavy-based saucepan melt the butter over low heat, add the flour all at once and cook, stirring constantly, for 2–3 minutes until the roux foams and smells of biscuits; it must not brown.
- Take the pan off the heat and add the hot milk in 3–4 portions, whisking until smooth after each one so no lumps form.
- Return to low heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly (including the bottom and corners), then simmer gently for 5–6 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg. Use at once, or cover the surface with film to stop a skin forming.
Recipe tradition
Not yet verified
This recipe has not been checked against a documented culinary reference.
Food data sources
- USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (2018-04) · USDA Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central SR Legacy. · CC0 1.0 Universal
Nutrition
Calculated from the selected ingredients; not a laboratory measurement.
Whole recipe
- Energy
- 856.1 kcal
- Protein
- 21.8 g
- Fat
- 57.9 g
- Total carbohydrate (by difference)
- 63 g
- Total dietary fibre (USDA)
- 1.4 g
- Saturated fatty acids
- 35 g
- Sodium
- 1,391 mg
- Salt (sodium × 2.5)
- 3.5 g
Per serving
- Protein5.5 g10%
- Fat14.5 g61%
- Total carbohydrate (by difference)15.8 g29%
Share of energy from protein, fat and carbohydrate (4 / 9 / 4 kcal per g), not share by weight.
- Energy
- 214 kcal
- Protein
- 5.5 g
- Fat
- 14.5 g
- Total carbohydrate (by difference)
- 15.8 g
- Total dietary fibre (USDA)
- 0.35 g
- Saturated fatty acids
- 8.7 g
- Sodium
- 347.8 mg
- Salt (sodium × 2.5)
- 0.87 g
Per 100 g of finished food
- Energy
- 158.5 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Fat
- 10.7 g
- Total carbohydrate (by difference)
- 11.7 g
- Total dietary fibre (USDA)
- 0.26 g
- Saturated fatty acids
- 6.5 g
- Sodium
- 257.6 mg
- Salt (sodium × 2.5)
- 0.64 g
Salt is calculated from sodium (g salt = mg sodium × 2.5 / 1000) and includes sodium from all ingredients.
A dash means the value is unknown, not zero.
Calculation limitations
- Nutrition is a calculated estimate, not a laboratory measurement.
- The final yield is an editorial estimate.
- Some ingredient quantities use documented estimates or household-measure assumptions.
- The number of servings is an editorial estimate (midpoint of the source range or based on the dish type and energy).
- Fibre, saturated fat and sodium of cooked ingredients are estimated from the consumed ingredient amounts; for drained ingredients, sodium is included only where the retained amount is an explicit editorial estimate.
- Some process effects could not be resolved in this calculation.