Why does my cheese sauce never ...

[kando]

taste cheesy enough? No matter how much cheese I put in it's still pretty bland. Does anyone have any fab, cheesy recipes for a foolproof cheese sauce ... please?!

Are you using mature cheddar? The mild is rubbish IMO.
You could add a bit of mustard or grated nutmeg to add to the flavour, depending on what you're cooking.

You need to use a decent medium or strong cheddar, add a good grinding of black pepper (I don't add salt, as there is so much salt in cheese) and add a good teaspoon of English mustard. Here's the proportions I use: 2oz butter, 1.5oz plain flour, 1 pint milk, 1 teaspoon English mustard, 6oz cheese

Make a white sauce, and use a good wodge of strong cheese. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard and a grating of black pepper

Many thanks ladies. I did add mustard (but only had Dijon mustard - is that any good?) and a bit of black pepper. Wish me luck next time I make it, dd2 will eat it without throwing the almighty paddy she is now directing at me ... apparently I'm a yucky horrid mummy. Maybe I should just buy packet cheese sauce instead!!!!

Dijon mustard should have been ok. Sounds like the problem lies with the type of cheese - what was it?

mature farmhouse cheese and taste the sauce before putting it on anything else

It's not healthy, but melt mascarpone in butter, add strong cheese, let that melt, season. Great for blue cheese sauce particularly.

How about trying gruyere instead of cheddar?

I like a mix of cheddar and Parmesan.

if it is still not working for you a stock cube or teaspoon of boullion powder can give it some life.

Mustard very important - and how about a little dash of worcester sauce?

Fry some finely chopped garlic in the melted butter, before you add the flour. Strong cheese (loads!), black pepper and a teaspoon of mustard.

Make sure you cook the flour/butter mixture enough before adding the milk, otherwise it can taste more floury than anything else iykwim.
And use the strongest farmhouse cheddar you can lay your hands on!
Oh, and often the reason restaurant/packet sauces taste strong is because they are far more salty than you would ever make at home.

I used a medium-mature cheddar, I think. We have to stock up on decent cheese as we live in Holland, and although Dutch cheese is very nice, it is rather bland! Will give some of those other recipes a go.

Re cooking the flour/butter mixture - how long should I cook it for? I usually only do it for 2-3 mins - is this long enough?