Making bechamel stronger

[knight76]

So my family is used to eating packet white sauce which definately tastes different to my bechamel. The packet one has a stronger taste and is spiced more strongly I guess. Not to mention all the wierd stuff in it.

So, how do I go about making mine more potent. At the moment my bechamel is always smooth with no lumps, the taste is subtle milky taste with an onion flavour since I heat the milk up with a 1cm section of onion in it. I just tried adding 1.5 TBS of thickened cream 35% fat to 500 ml of bechamel and really couldnt taste much difference.

I have also added some cheddar cheese to it which turned out ok for a cheese sauce.

I am going to try putting a clove of garlic into it next to see how that goes.

But what else can I do.

I have thought of adding some sort of milk powder to boost the milky taste. Do I add this to the flour that goes with the roux?

My basic Bechamel.

500 ml full cream milk
30g butter unsalted
30g plain flour
spiced with salt and pepper

[bowlingshirt]

I think it's mostly just a matter of experimenting with different seasonings in it. Saying you want to make it more "potent" is a little vague.

[Andy M.]

Skip trying other dairy products. As bowlingshirt said, experiment with different herbs and spices. Garlic would be good.

Always add a bit of ground nutmeg to a bechamel.

[knight76]

Ok, so how would I go about making the milk taste stronger in the same amount of liquid?

I am going to try garlic next to see how that goes. Then?

What are common spices to add to it. I will give nutmeg a go also.

[Jeekinz]

I use nutmeg and parmesan in mine. Lots of fresh black pepper too.

[suziquzie]

alll of the above plus maybe a splash of white wine.

[middie]

Or a teaspoon or so of mustard

[kitchenelf]

If you want more flavor you need to add more spices/herbs, etc. You cannot make milk taste stronger. Milk is the "beige" that you need to spice up. Like Andy said, adding more dairy will actually make it more mild. The packet stuff is full of preservatives and inundated with dried spices/herbs (I guess, as I've never used it). Homemade is going to be more mild and smoother tasting, which to me, is a good thing. I think salt is more the issue than anything. If you look at that packet I bet the sodium content is quite high.

[ChefJune]

I always add a little grate of nutmeg, and how about a few drops of Tabasco, or the hot sauce of your choice? Not to make it HOT, just "kick it up a notch." (and btw, that's what Emeril means when he says that..... just a smidge -- or two -- of hot sauce where you don't expect it).

[Andy M.]

I don't recommend trying to make your homemade bechamel taste the same as the packet.

However, if you want to add some flavors, that's another story. You can spend the rest of your life trying different combinations of flavorings in bechamel. The possibilities are endless.