White sauce—or bechamel, if you use its French name—is one of the five mother sauces taught in culinary schools. Its simplicity makes it a blank canvas for creativity; once you’ve mastered it, you can ...

One of the first and most valuable things I learned to cook was a basic white sauce. A simple mixture of butter, flour and milk creates a rich, velvety base you can turn into just about anything you ...

What is a soufflé? It's essentially a simple white sauce enriched with egg yolks. Stiffly beaten egg whites are folded right into the mixture. At this point, you can add whatever you like: cheese, ...

An Alabama white sauce, a South Carolina mustard sauce and a North Carolina vinegar sauce: Each comes together in minutes with just a few staples. By Steven Raichlen Traditional American barbecue ...