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A pâté (also spelled paté) is a spreadable paste, usually made from meat although vegetarian variants exist, and often served with toast as a starter. It is a French word which translates as "paste".
It is generally made from a finely ground or chunky mixture of meats such as liver, and often additional fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and possibly other ingredients.
In French a pâté may be cooked in a crust as pie or terrine, in which case it is called pâté en croűte. On the other hand, it may be cooked in a terrine (or other mold), often lined with fat, in which case it is known as pâté en terrine. Traditionally, a forcemeat mixture cooked and served in a terrine is called a terrine, but when it is unmolded it becomes a pâté.
The most famous pâté is probably the pâté de foie gras.