Horse-radish Butter

Beurre de raifort (horseradish butter) teaches that texture controls heat. Before touching a pan, know this: you don't need one, and the sieve does as much flavor work as the grater. It removes the root's wiry fibers and distributes its raw bite evenly, so every mouthful is clean and bracing rather than a sudden blast.

The entry assumed a heavy mortar, a fine sieve, and a practiced kitchen hand. At home, a sturdy bowl and flat wooden spoon do the pounding, while an ordinary fine-mesh sieve finishes the work. The book's four ounces of butter to two ounces of root already make a sensible home batch, so neither the quantity nor the exact two-to-one ratio has changed. The dedicated hand and heavy mortar are brigade scaffolding; thorough pounding and sieving are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The finished beurre de raifort should be pale ivory, finely flecked, and smooth enough to drag across rye bread without catching a fiber. Keep the butter pliable but cool, grate the root at the last moment, and give the sieving your full attention. That final passage through the mesh decides the dish.