KITCHEN PRACTICE 1 — Béchamel From Scratch
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Chapter: French Cookery 4 — Roux & the Mother Sauces I

TASK
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Make a béchamel from scratch — a white roux, warm milk whisked in
gradually, and a 10-15 minute simmer finished with salt, white
pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

WHAT TO DO
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1. Melt equal weights of butter and flour's worth of butter in a
   heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat (e.g. 30g butter to 30g
   flour for a modest batch).
2. Whisk in the flour all at once, stirring continuously until fully
   absorbed into a smooth paste.
3. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1-2 minutes until the raw-flour
   smell is gone but no colour has developed — a white roux.
4. In a separate small pan, gently warm milk until just warm to the
   touch, not boiling.
5. Whisk the warm milk into the roux a little at a time, letting
   each addition fully incorporate before adding more.
6. Once all the milk is in, simmer gently for 10-15 minutes,
   whisking occasionally, until it coats the back of a spoon.
7. Season with salt, white pepper, and a small pinch of freshly
   grated nutmeg.

WHAT TO EXPECT
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- The roux should smell nutty-neutral, not raw and starchy, before
  any milk goes in — a genuine sign it's cooked enough.
- As the milk is whisked in gradually, the mixture should stay
  smooth throughout, with no visible lumps forming.
- The finished béchamel should be smooth, pourable but thick enough
  to visibly coat a spoon, and taste of milk and a faint background
  warmth from the nutmeg — not of raw flour.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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Every step here does specific work: cooking the roux properly
removes the raw-flour taste before it ever reaches the sauce;
warming the milk (rather than adding it cold) keeps the whole
mixture at a gentler, more even temperature as it comes together;
and the gradual whisking is what prevents the starch from seizing
into lumps. Skipping any one of the three tends to produce a
noticeably worse result — a gritty, raw-tasting sauce, a lumpy one,
or both.