bechamel

Other forms: bechamels

Bechamel is a rich, pale-colored sauce made with milk. You can make lasagna with bechamel instead of the more traditional tomato sauce.

Another name for bechamel — or béchamel — is "white sauce." Making a bechamel is a very basic technique in French cooking which begins with a roux, a cooked mixture of flour and butter, and after slowly whisking in milk, ends in a creamy sauce. The word bechamel comes from the name of a servant of King Louis XIV of France, Louis de Béchamel, who is said to have invented it in the 17th century.