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The way I learned was to pin a bay leaf to the flat face of a half onion with two cloves, then float that in the milk as it simmers before adding it to the roux. It tastes good! Also, I second the comment about making sure it's seasoned properly. Salt is your friend!

I skip the flour and use double cream, butter and lots of parmesan for cream sauce. I generally add slowly sauteed mushrooms as well (you want to keep the liquid, not cook it off).

For a curry, I'd recommend slowly cooked butter (unless you can get ghee) with coconut milk. Add most of the spices early, add the salt at the end.

As a cheat, I'll throw a stock cube into the simmering cream.

I do the dash of mutmeg thingy, also some tabasco sauce, maybe some cheese, and of course sherry.

Here's how I make mine.

I use 2Tbsp. each flour and butter for each cup of liquid, and I let the flour and butter bubble (hehe, butter bubble) until it's golden brown, so the flour doesn't taste like paste. That ratio of flour & fat to liquid yields a perfect consistency every time--not too thick, not too thin.

I also use half chicken stock and half milk, season with salt, pepper, and sometimes a little chicken boullion, and a little nutmeg. A little spicy brown mustard will liven things up a bit, too, if you like.

This is not a sarcastic answer: Truly, when things taste bland, salt will help. In my experience, many complaints of poor, "bland" recipes turn out to be rooted in underseasoning. There's not much flavor in milk or unsalted butter, so bechamel takes a lot of seasoning.

Otherwise, 4 tbs of flour seems like a lot for 1 cup of milk. I completely agree with your formula of 1 tbs flour for 1 cup of milk for a thin sauce, but I don't think you really need more than 2 tbs for a thickish sauce.

I sweat mirepoix (seasoned with salt and pepper) in butter over low - medium low heat, add flour and make a blond roux (cook for 3-5 minutes to get the raw taste out of the flour). I add milk (always whole, have tried skim and it never comes out quite right), a pinch of nutmeg, and a couple of bay leaves and simmer for 10-15 minutes (never boil). Then I strain the sauce twice, once to get rid of the mirepoix and big lumps (press on the solids to get out as much of the sauce as possible) and the second just to make sure it's smooth. I adjust seasoning at this point.

when i make bechamel, i usually simmer the milk with either an onion or a few garlic cloves..... or a shortcut is to saute some finely chopped onion with the butter before you add the flour. if i don't do this the sauce just tastes flat to me. i do like a mixture of milk and chicken stock, though.... like a pot pie base (veloute)....

you have to cook that flour-ry taste out.... however long it takes. just keep stirring or put a heat diffuser under the pot so it doesn't scorch. also, another method is to put it in a heavy, shallow pan and put it in the oven....i've never done this but i'm sure it's a great method.

bechamel is one of those sauces that can be a pain in the butt ... it's like it knows it's not my favorite -- so it plays little tricks on me!

southeasterneater, the salt scouring idea goes back to the days before nylon and stainless steel scrubbers were invented. salt was a gritty substance that helped clean the pot and was readily available in the kitchen. i still use salt and a stainless steel scrubber even though i don't need the salt, mom and grandmom used salt and that's all i need to know.

@southeasterneater: I start by rinsing out whatever i can with hot water. Then sprinkle coarse kosher salt over the entire inside; this probably requires about 3-4 tablespoons. Then I attack with a plastic scouring pad, and rinse with very hot water at the end. Very rarely, I have to repeat the process to get really burnt on foods off. Nearly always works the first go-around.

Hot water and a dish brush, then I wipe it dry and put it on low heat for 5 minutes max, occasionally wiping with a smear of oil and a paper towel before I put it away.

But I store it in the oven. So if I'm preheating the oven for something, I leave the pan in there. Don't have any problems with it so far, and I am not about to run the oven for several hours just for an empty pan.

lemons, how in the hell did you break a cast iron pan? mine are more than 70 years old and have survived camp fires, fire places and katrina.

i never use soap, just hot water, table salt and a stainless steel scrubber, when they need to be seasoned i rub lard all over the entire pan including the exterior and place them in a 200 degree oven for two hours. i only do this twice a year, july 4 and christmas.

Not True! I wash mine in soap all the time, so did my Mum and Grandmother (the original owner). Maybe because it has been in use for over 40 years? Wash in the usual stuff (but no soaking). Plastic scrubby if needed. Rince in very hot water, dry with paper towel or non-precious tea towel. Retained heat in pan will dry it further. Twice a year I season in the over with vegetable shortning although it really doesn't need it.