Pate is a food that can be used both to introduce it as part of a recipe when cooking, or as an appetizer or side dish. Its use is widespread, so it is normal to want to know what pate is and how it is made.
Due to its texture, the pâté can be spread on cookies or on bread, becoming a small dish to open your mouth before a meal. It is a good option to relieve the stomach when you are hungry and you cannot wait for the main course.
By introducing pâté into your diet, you are helping your body to increase the level of micronutrients that serve to improve your state of health.
On the other hand, you have to be careful about eating pâté in excess, due to its components, it is a food with a high level of fat.
In any case, in moderation, it provides the body with iron, vitamin B2 that helps the body during the metabolic process, and other vitamins, such as vitamin A, which improves the immune system or B12, which is good for the nervous system.
In addition, it helps to get energy to meet all daily obligations or for the performance of athletes, thanks to its iron content.
How the pate is made
Pate is a delicious food that is prepared by a mixture of different components that, together, form the paste known as pate. In fact, that’s what the word pate means.
This paste has a very consistent shape, which allows it to be spread, making it a very versatile food.
Among its ingredients, the pate contains animal fat and liver, and is flavored with different seasonings that give it that characteristic flavor.
As a general rule, animals such as pigs and chickens are used to obtain this food. Two animals that take full advantage of them during the quartering.
Other ingredients such as milk or flour are added to the viscera of one of these animals. Finally, other seasonings are added to give flavor.
The process of elaboration of the pâté is somewhat laborious, but it is worth it to achieve a first-class product. These are the phases that compose it:
Preheating. Lightly cook the liver and meat to achieve smoothness.
Chopped. Everything is finely chopped together with the rest of the ingredients that will make up the final product.
Putting in moulds. The pasta is placed in tubs for the next step.
Cooking. The pâté is cooked at around 75-80º C in the center of the tub so that the proteins coagulate.
Cooling. Cold water is sprayed to cool the molds.
Ornament. The final touch, which is made with spices or fruit on which a thin layer of gelatin is placed, which protects the pâté and prevents the fat from becoming rancid.
Difference between pate and foie gras
When it comes to choosing between pâté and foie gras, there is often some confusion. Many people consider that both foods are the same and do not know the differences, which there are, between the two foods.
Although they share common elements, such as some ingredients, there are differences that make both different and that allow you to differentiate them when buying one product or another, even though they may seem the same.
One difference between pate and foie gras is that the ingredient with which the latter is made is goose, goose or duck liver, unlike pate, which is usually made with chicken or pork, although it can also be made with other animals such as ours, which we make from wild boar, deer, duck and partridge.
To mass-produce it, large companies often overfeed animals, causing their livers to enlarge. On the other hand, in Artemonte, we do not raise animals but we use animals in freedom
To make foie gras, no other ingredient is used, mixed with the animal’s liver. It is prepared by slow cooking, another difference between pate and foie gras. Thanks to the heat treatment, the liver is kept at a good level of hygiene so that it can be eaten.
Both products have quite a few calories, which means that you have to be very careful when consuming them. But they can be introduced into a healthy and balanced diet if the balance is maintained when consuming them.
Whether in sandwiches, spread as an appetizer or included in a recipe, both products can add flavor. Children love it, and it gives them a lot of energy to carry out all day-to-day activities. That is why it is so typical to see children take a pâté sandwich at recess.
Whether pate or foie gras, in both cases the vitamins and nutrients necessary for its proper functioning are introduced into the body. It is a tasty and nutritious food that is liked, in general, by people of all ages.
