pâtés and Terrines

Traditionally, a pâté has a crust, while a terrine is made by cooking forcemeat or a whole foie gras liver in a porcelain or metal terrine (the name doubles for both the dish and what is cooked in it). What used to be called a pâté (today pâté and terrine are used interchangeably) is now called, rather redundantly, pâté en croute. A pâté en croute is usually baked in an ovoid metal terrine that folds open and is often stamped with some decoration. Unfortunately, the dough used for making a pâté en croute is rarely worth eating and only absorbs flavorful juices released by the filling. For this reason, terrines are usually considered more flavorful than traditional pâtés.