General Information About Pâtés en Croute, Terrines, and Ballottines

Appears in
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

By French Culinary Institute

Published 2021

  • About

Although the terms pâté and terrine are now used interchangeably, there were, originally, very specific differences. A pâté referred to a savory meat mixture wrapped in pastry and baked (pâtés en croûte), while a terrine was either a savory or sweet-spicy mixture of meats, fish, poultry, vegetables, or fruit cooked in gelatin in a lidded mold also referred to as a terrine (pâté en terrine) and served cold. In the contemporary kitchen, the terms are somewhat ambiguous, but occasionally a pâté will not be made and served in a molded form while a terrine is always made in and cut from a mold.