CHARCUTERIE PRODUCT - PATE

 CHARCUTERIE PRODUCT - PATE

                  This word is used in three ways in French: Pate. Pate en terrine and Pate en Croute.

                        In France, the word pate on its own should strictly speaking only be applied to a dish consisting of a pastry case filled with meat, fish, vegetables or fruits which is baked in the oven and served hot or cold. The best English translation of this word is pie. although many of these dishes are much richer and more elaborate than the sort of pie usually eaten in England and America and are often prepared in molds rather than pie dishes.

                    Pate en terrine is a meat, game or fish preparation put into a dish lined with bacon. cooked in an oven and always served cold. The correct French abbreviation of this is. Terrine, but in common usage, the French also call it Pate. The English have adopted both means.

                      Pate en croute is a rich meat, game or fish mixture cooked in a pastry case and served hot or cold. Pate was known to the Romans. who used to make it chiefly with pork but also used all types of marinated spiced ingredients. In the middle ages, their were numerous recipes for Patisseries made with pork, poultry, eel, turbot, carp. venison, sheep's tongue etc. Today there are many varieties of pates inspired by French regional cookery: notably Pate de Charles ( Partridge). Pate de Amiens (Duck), Pate de Pithiviers (Lark), Pate de Pezenas ( Mutton. spices and sugar ) etc.

                     The pastry most often used for pate en croutes is pate a pale which is an ordinary lining pastry made with lard, but a fine lining pastry made with butter is also used as well as puff pastry and unsweetened brioche dough. The pate mould, which has deep sides and hinges or clips, maybe round. oval or rectangular. Dariole moulds are sometimes used for very small pates. The fillings are based on Pork. Veal. Ham. Chicken, Fish, Game and sometimes vegetables. All the ingredients are generally minced quite finely but some of them may be cut into matchsticks, small strips or dices. The ingredients may be marinated separately. They are mixed with the filling or alternated with layers of filling.