6.1 Starch Paste Characteristics: White Sauces

Objectives

  • To use appropriate techniques for the prevention of lumping.
  • To use appropriate techniques for thickening a starch mixture
  • To observe the range of viscosity in starch-thickened sauces with proportions varying from 1 to 4 tbsp. flour per cup of liquid.

Laboratory Problems

  • Determine the effectiveness of various methods of separating starch granules.
  • Prepare basic white sauces and variations.

 

Preparation of sauce and variations:

  White Sauce

Thin Medium Thick Very Thick
Butter or margarine 1 tbsp. 2 tbsp. 3 tbsp. 4 tbsp.
Flour 1 tbsp. 2 tbsp. 3 tbsp. 4 tbsp.
Salt* 1/8 tsp. 1/8 tsp. 1/8 tsp. 1/8 tsp.
Milk 1 cup 1 cup 1 cup 1 cup

Melt fat in saucepan.  Blend in flour and salt; remove from heat.  Add milk, stirring to blend; return to heat and stir gently while heating quickly to the full boil.  Boil 1 minute if sauce is not to be cooked further.

*Amount of salt may vary with added ingredients or intended use of the white sauce.

White Sauce Variations

Tomato Sauce: Substitute tomato juice for milk in the above recipe for medium sauce.  Omit salt.

Brown Sauce:  Follow instructions for medium white sauce with the following changes:  1) Omit salt if a salted liquid is used.  2) After the flour and butter are blended, continue to heat until the mixture has turned a light brown color.  3) Substitute water, bouillon or vegetable juice for milk.

 

Evaluation

Sauce Appearance Texture Flavor Uses
Thin White Sauce Cream soup, vegetable sauce
Medium White Sauce Casserole base, cheese sauce
Thick White Sauce Soufflé
Very Thick White Sauce Croquettes
Tomato Sauce Tomato soup or gravy
Brown Sauce Gravy, meats

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Basic Scientific Food Preparation Lab Manual Copyright © 2023 by Iowa State University Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.