In the article below you will find out, among others:
- What is the composition of the pate?
- Is the pate caloric?
The history of the pate supposedly dates back to antiquity. In the times of the nobility, it was considered a representative dish, but nowadays it is associated rather with a cheap, comfortable and average-quality dish. Most often it can be purchased as canned food in aluminum cups or cans. You can also find pate in a jar or pate by weight sold in the meat department, which is usually of slightly better quality. If your mother or grandmother prepared pate at home, you probably have completely different, more positive associations with it.
What is the composition of the pate?
Unfortunately, there are no standards for what product can be called a pate and what conditions it must meet. A definition from the dictionary of the Polish language says that a pate is “a food product made of several types of stewed or boiled meat and offal, which is baked after grinding and properly seasoning”. The reality of the shop, however, is far from this definition and the purchased pates unfortunately have little to do with meat.
Pâtés sterilized in aluminum cups and cans
Sample composition pate with poultry looks like this:
Water, pork fat, mechanically separated meat with shrinking and goose 14%, chicken liver 12%, pork liver, eggs, wheat semolina, chicken hearts 3%, salt, soy protein, modified starch, onion, pepper, spices.
Different Chicken pate:
Water, mechanically separated meat from chickens, vegetable fat, liver and skin chicken, semolina, salt, soy protein, potato starch, dried vegetables, natural spices, powdered milk, whey, sugar, maltodextrin, wheat protein hydrolyzate, yeast extract.
Exemplary pork pate:
Water, pork fat, pork liver 20%, pork meat 6%, eggs, wheat semolina, salt, soy protein, roasted onion, onion, pepper, spices.
As can be seen, the term “With poultry” does not mean that the pate is entirely poultry – it can contain pork additives such as fat or offal.
As for the meat added to the patties, it is usually mechanically separated meat called MOM. It is practically the worst type of meat that could not be separated by hand from the bones. They are therefore meat residues, and fat i cartilagethat you have managed to push through the plunger. The content of MSM in pates should not exceed 40%. Due to the high fat content of MSM, this product is prone to spoilage, so preservatives are often added to it, or it is quickly processed and sterilized to prevent the growth of microbes. Offal such as livers and hearts usually make up a slightly smaller proportion in the pate.
Content fat in pates it is usually high due to the fact that it is supposed to ensure adequate spreadability and consistency of the product. These patties are sterilized, so they have a rather distant use-by date and do not need to be refrigerated.
How much calories does pate have?
The nutritional value of the pate
Sample nutritional value pate with poultry w 100 g:
The energy value of 213 kcal
Protein 8,3 g
Fat 17,8 g
Carbohydrates 5,1 g
Sample nutritional value chicken pate w 100 g:
The energy value of 184 kcal
Protein 7 g
Fat 16 g
Carbohydrates 4 g
Sample nutritional value pork pate w 100 g:
The energy value of 261 kcal
Protein 7,8 g
Fat 23,4 g
Carbohydrates 5,1 g
As can be seen, the pate is a product high-calorie due to high fat content. Therefore, it is not a product recommended for a slimming diet. Of course, eating it from time to time will not hurt, but this product does not provide valuable nutrients. However, it cannot be denied its convenience, because due to the packaging it can be easily carried and does not need to be stored in the refrigerator, so it seems to be irreplaceable for trips.
Premium pâtés
However, there is a chance to find a better quality pate than the canned one.
Sample composition premium pate with wild boar (in a jar):
Wild boar meat 25%, pork fat, pork meat 20%, chicken liver 18%, eggs, onion, salt, garlic, spices.
There is much more meat here than in the pates mentioned above and it is of better quality.
The best choice, however, will be baked pate by weight in a block, which has the shortest use-by date (from a few to several days) and most resembles baked homemade pate in appearance and taste.
Sample composition Poultry and pork pate from the oven:
Turkey meat (62%), pork meat (31%), pork liver, turkey liver, onion, pork fat, egg yolk, wheat flour, salt, dried vegetables, spices, dextrose.
Therefore, if you like pate, try to prepare it at home, and if you do not have time for it, choose the one with the highest content of good-quality meat in the store instead of the pate paste, the nutritional value of which leaves much to be desired.
Do you know the recipes for a healthy home-made pate? Be sure to share it in the comment!