Béchamel

One of the five mother sauces of traditional French cuisine and a key ingredient in numerous recipes – from simple dishes like lasagna to elegant ones such as soufflé – Béchamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is nothing more than roux-thickened milk.

There are at least four theories regarding its origin, but the most likely one claims it was invented for Louis XIV by his chef, Pierre de la Varenne, whose 17th-century cookbook Le Cuisinier françois is home to the first recorded Béchamel recipe.

As milk was considered a luxury at the time, Béchamel was often associated with wealth, while Velouté sauce, its close cousin, was considered the sauce of the masses. The invention of refrigeration and pasteurization made milk affordable and more easily available to the common man, and Béchamel quickly overtook Velouté in popularity soon thereafter.