Runny Cheese sauce

[lallyb]

sometimes if i make cauli cheese in advance and then reheat it in the oven the sauce goes really watery even if it was nice and thick when it was made. Why?!

[Im a BusyBee]

i shall be interested to read your answers, we dont like cauliflower cheese heated up.

[Lowri]

Did you thicken it with cornflour or granules? If so it wont retain a thick consistentency for very long. You have to make a proper base sauce with plain flour and margerine and milk.
Melt 1oz marg in saucepan, add a tablespoon of sifted flour and mix toghther to form a thick paste (roux) and cook over low heat for 3 mins constantly stirring. Do not allow to burn. Have 3/4 pint of milk slightly warmed in the microwave ready in a jug and add in small quantities to your flour, still over the heat, stirring in and mixing thoroughly to avoid lumps, gradually add all the milk, and bring gently to the boil, stirring all the time, then reduce heat,and continue stirring until thick. Stirr in your grated cheese and 1/2 a teaspoon of english mustard (optional)
and there you will have a cheese sauce which will stay thick upon reheating.

[Ditone]

This has sometimes happened to me even making it the right way with flour etc. but I make sure the cauli is not overcooked and also drained really wel.

Ditone

[Jugglering]

I always make up my cauliflower cheese using a roux as Lowri describes but sometimes, even that separates out on reheating.... it seems to depend on how high I've got the oven temperature as well and whether I've used wholemeal flour or white flour in the roux.... strange ! It seems to be ok if I use plain white flour and reheat at not more than 200degC for about 25 minutes... any longer or hotter than that and I have a watery lumpy goo! I find it simpler to reheat the cauli cheese in the microwave instead.

PS... If you want to make a really glossy, tasty white sauce (just adding cheese for a cheese sauce) is to coarsely chop half an onion, one carrot, a stick of celery and place these in a pint of milk, along with about 6 peppercorns and a couple of bayleaves. Bring to the milk to the boil very gently then turn off the heat and allow everything to talk for half an hour or so... Strain off the vegetables, discard and use the warm milk as Lowri describes.... your sauce has been transformed into a totally different critter !

[lallyb]

Hmm...it happens even with a roux-made sauce. Maybe it's the too hot/too long in the oven thing as suggested.

[Lowri]

Make your sauce a little thicker with half as much flour again, your cauli will thin it down again if it's to lie a while.

[ermintrude35]

...it's because the cauli retains a lot of moisture....after draining, return to the empty , but still warm saucepan, replace lid and put back onto the hob with the heat turned off, it will steam off the excess water....