Which Cheese Melts the Creamiest?

[jennyema]

bechamel sauce.....sounds so fancy, I'd have to look it up. Is it simply a 'white sauce' (what my mother always called it)?....made by melting butter, adding flour, then milk or cream, whisking, cooking on low until thick.....?

I add whatever cheese I have on hand to this, to make a cheese sauce.

Yes. A béchamel sauce to which cheese has been added is called Mornay Sauce.

Make sure you add the cheese with the base sauce off the heat. If it's too hot your sauce will be grainy. It just needs to be hot enough to melt the cheese.

 

[taxlady]

Yes. A béchamel sauce to which cheese has been added is called Mornay Sauce.

Make sure you add the cheese with the base sauce off the heat. If it's too hot your sauce will be grainy. It just needs to be hot enough to melt the cheese.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Soma]

So "mornay sauce" is bechamel sauce + cheese? (and bechamel is a fancy name for basic white sauce). I think I'm getting it now.

 

[jennyema]

So "mornay sauce" is bechamel sauce + cheese? (and bechamel is a fancy name for basic white sauce). I think I'm getting it now.

Yes and yes! Super easy.

If you make béchamel with chicken stock it's called Veloute Sauce. Still just white sauce with a fancy name.

 

[HistoricFoodie]

Soma, just think of all his as shorthand that helps communicate.

You could say, for instance, "I use a dairly-based white sauce with cheese added to it." Or you can just say "mornay," and most people will understand.

The important thing is this: If you don't understand a term, ask. There are no stupid questions.

 

[vitauta]

oh please

 

[Claire]

I took home ec through junior and senior high school, for an "easy A". Somewhere in my Junior or Senior year of high school, we had to perfect what were called, if I remember right, "the Mother Sauces". I don't remember how many there were, but mornay, bechamel, hollandaise were among them. The test was to make them without breaking.

In fact, I learned a lot in my home ec classes. Mom was (and is) a marvelous cook, seamstress, and house-keeper. But there were a few things like the above that I had to study because they were not in her repetoir.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I think a basic understanding of the French mother sauces is very important because they're so easy to make and can dress up ordinary foods into seemingly fancy dishes. Bechamel (white), Mornay, Veloute, Soubise, Brown sauce... The list just goes on and on. The main dividing point is stock based or milk based, and from either of them it's often only one or two more ingredients and some seasoning to make all the variations. In many cases the pan scrapings are an important part.

 

[Claire]

Greg, I still have a problem with my mother sauces in that they break. I, I might say, did get an "A" on them as a teen. But I think a lot of it is trying to use lower fat milk products rather than full fat cream. Every once in awhile an old home ec teacher gets into my brain and I remember stuff like ... well, bring all the ingredients to room temp before mixing. Duh!

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I was trying to understand the breaking comment. I haven't found that to be a problem but I'm not one who avoids fats. In fact I often use heavy cream or whipping cream to finish off sauces. Maybe I've just been lucky. Also, I probably don't push sauces to the limit. I'm content when it tastes okay and looks okay and don't try to keep adding this or that to the breaking point.

Could you not be making enough roux? I understand roux is the main thing that holds it all together. Just guessing. I don't measure when I'm making sauces, but rather just add what seems right. Maybe I make more roux than other people. My sauces don't seem floury but maybe I'm not experienced enough to be a good judge of that. All I know is that my sauces are easy to make and they taste good to me.

 

[Claire]

I think my problem is (a) trying to use low-fat alternatives and (b) not remembering to bring everything to room temp before mixing so that I'm not adding cold ingredients to hot ones. I'm not talking about when using a roux, I never have a problem with that. I really did take Home Ec as a kid and know what I'm messing up. Mostly it's called ... being lazy!!

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Using low fat alternatives could be a big problem. I don't think the Mornay would work very well from skim milk and non-fat cheese substitute. Probably most of my ingredients are at room temperature (not the butter which obviously doesn't matter) but I'd probably add cream from a carton that's been out of the fridge and on the counter for 20 minutes. Maybe I'm just lucky. It's often the case that being lucky trumps being skillful. One thing for sure, I'm no expert, although not a novice either. I probably began making sauces seriously about several years ago, back when I really started to get into Julia Child's books.

Another thing to keep in mind is to add ingredients a little at a time. I naturally do that because I'm not measuring things. I'll add some ingredient, incorporate it, then taste it to see if I need more. If it's cream for example I wouldn't add so much that it would shock the temperature of the sauce. I would also probably have the sauce fairly hot since I stir it almost constantly. I usually make the sauce at the end so everything else is probably cooked and the sauce becomes my sole focus. It's the last thing I need to get done so that I can serve.

 

[taxlady]

If you add eel, it's called a moray sauce.


































ducks and runs

 

[CharlieD]

... Swiss, provolone, or havarti?...

Havarti, for sure.

 

[Dawgluver]

If you add eel, it's called a moray sauce.

ducks and runs

"When you're out in the sea, and something bites your knee, that's a moray. When you're stuck in the sand and something bites your hand, that's a moray. When you're stuck in a rut and something bites your butt, that's....."

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

If you add eel, it's called a moray sauce.

Yuck! I'm glad I have a slow Internet connection and your link wouldn't load.

I don't want to see eel on my plate. (Didn't we already have this topic?)

 

[PrincessFiona60]

if you add eel, it's called a moray sauce.
Ducks and runs

"when you're out in the sea, and something bites your knee, that's a moray. When you're stuck in the sand and something bites your hand, that's a moray. When you're stuck in a rut and something bites your butt, that's....."

rofl! Gxn!

 

[HistoricFoodie]

If you add eel, it's called a moray sauce.

Boo. Hiss.

Let's see your punning license.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

If you add eel, it's called a moray sauce.

Boo. Hiss.

Let's see your punning license.

We get them out of specially marked boxes of Cracker Jacks.

 

[HistoricFoodie]