Cheese sauce

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How to make a basic cheese sauce. Turn it into a Mornay sauce by simply changing the cheese varieties; eg: lly, half Gruyère cheese and half Parmesan cheese or variations of Gruyère cheese, Emmental cheese, or Cheddar cheese.

The base sauce for these recipes is a basic white sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon sifted plain flour
• ½ pint (300 ml) cold milk or half milk, half stock

For a normal cheese sauce:

• 100 g (4oz) grated Cheddar cheese

For Mornay sauce:

• 50 g (2 oz) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 50 g (2 oz) Gruyère cheese

Method

1. Gently melt the butter in a pan. Don't burn it
2. Add all of the sifted flour
3. Mix the flour and butter until it becomes a paste
4. Turn to a medium heat and gradually add all the milk, whisking constantly
5. Ensure none of the sauce is stuck to the bottom of the pan
6. Stir gently until the sauce starts to bubble
7. Sprinkle the cheese into the sauce and mix well
8. reduce to a very low heat and cook for 5 minutes

Chef's tip

The key to a perfect sauce is to keep whisking until all of the milk has been added and there are no lumps

Variations

For more exotic sauces, try different combinations of cheeses. The recipe is the same, just change the cheese. We have a few listed here

A mixture of milk and cream makes a richer sauce

Chopped chives for a little colour and flavour