Pâté is a forcemeat. Originally, the dish was cooked in a pastry case and called pâté en croute; in more recent times it is more usually cooked without pastry in a terrine, and called pâté en terrine

Forcemeat is a uniform mixture of lean meat with fat made by grinding or sieving the ingredients. The result may either be smooth or coarse. Forcemeats are used in the production of numerous items fou