Pâté

Various pâtés and terrines

Pâté (French pronunciation: [pɑte]; UK: /ˈpæteɪ/, US: /pɑːˈteɪ/) is a mixture of ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and wine.

Variations

In French or Belgian cuisine, pâté may be baked in a crust as pie or loaf, in which case it is called pâté en croûte or baked in a terrine (or other mold), in which case it is known as pâté en terrine. Traditionally, a forcemeat mixture cooked and served in a terrine is called a terrine. The most famous pâté is probably pâté de foie gras, made from the fattened livers of geese. Foie gras entier is plain goose liver cooked and sliced, not made into pâté. In the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and Austria, some liver pâtés are shaped as a soft, often spreadable sausage, called leverworst (Dutch) or leberwurst (German). In the United States these are sometimes called "liverwurst" (mixing English and German), or braunschweiger. Some liverwurst can be sliced. In the US, sliced liverwurst is used as a sandwich filler. Others are spreadable as most French or Belgian pâté; these types are more popular in England.

In Scandinavia, leverpostej is a popular baked pâté similar to the French pâté en terrine, usually made of lard and pork liver.

In Russia and Ukraine, the dish is mostly prepared with liver and thus is commonly known as печеночный паштет (Russian, pechonachniy pashtet), however other meats also can be used. Unlike the Western European method the liver is first boiled and mixed with butter and/or fat and seasoning, such as fresh or fried onion, spices and herbs. It can be further cooked (usually baked), but most often is used without any other preparation. The pâté is served on bread, often with dill or other fresh herbs.

Vegetarian Pâtés

Vegetarian pâtés based on tofu, mushrooms, nuts or various beans are available. These pâtés do not require cooking and are easily made with a food processor.^[1]

Pâtés Used For Sandwich Spread

In Vietnam, pâté is commonly used on banh mi baguette type sandwiches.^[2] Pâté of this type is more commonly made from liver.

See also

• Braunschweiger
• Galantine
• Head cheese
• Leverpostej
• Pâté chinois
• Rillettes
• Rissole
• Terrine
• Fatback
• Liverwurst

References

1. ^ Versatile vegetarian pâtés simple to make
2. ^ Pork and Pâté Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi)