I’ve noticed something that keeps coming up and I’m curious if it’s cultural.

Once abroad with American friends, we stopped by this fancy sandwich spot. Fillet mignon, cheese, apple, and pâté. I thought it was incredible, but they commented that the pâté “looked like cat food”.

When I host dinner parties in the US, I usually start with crackers, cheese, and pâté. Like, a smooth duck or goose pâté with port. Almost nobody ever touches it, even when they happily eat everything else.

Where I’m from, pâté is completely normal, so I’m wondering:
Is pâté just unfamiliar or off-putting to many Americans?
Would foie gras get a different reaction, or is it the same issue?

Genuinely curious, not trying to start a food fight 🙂


33 comments

  3. An old, timeless saying by Jewish grandpas from New York to Skokie to Boca:

    “What am I, chopped liver?”

  7. I haven’t had pate since I was a kid. My dad had this really eccentric friend who was a professor and traveled the world, and had really adventurous taste in food. I was a little weirdo and always down to try all the things he brought over, including goose pate. I thought it was pretty good at the time (I was probably 8 or 9). It hadn’t occurred to me until this post that I haven’t seen it in stores or anything. I think you’re right, it’s just not popular here.

  9. Pâte is normal on banh mis. I feel like people are eating it on Viet food more than French food

  10. My dad is from France, I love pâté. Still does not change the fact it looks like a tin of cat food especially the foie grass pâté my grandparents send from France
    Edit: minor spelling mistake 

  11. I think Americans don’t tend to care for pate because it’s seldom eaten here, and it does kind of look like cat food. Also, I think it tastes like liver, which is also seldom eaten here. I think foie gras would get a similar reaction, except a few people who actually know what it is will look at you like you personally tortured those birds to death. 

  13. If I could post a picture, I’d send along a photo of our supply of cat food … the one with the word “PÂTÉ” in big letters on the box. As stated elsewhere … it’s synonymous with cat food.

  14. It’s uncommon and unpopular in the US. Liver is not a common cut of meat outside certain subcultures and pate style preparations of meat are considered kind of gross by most people.

    Most people who know what foie gras is think foie gras is unethical.

  16. Foie gras and pâté are both very unusual in America. You’ll find pâté at French restaurants, on banh mi, and sometimes at farmers markets if you luck out. It basically doesn’t exist otherwise. Foie gras is exclusively a fancy restaurant thing if something people know what it is at all. 

  17. The fine dining French restaurant in my city serves pate sometimes. As far as I know, they are the only restaurant to do so (although it’s a large city, so there are probably some others).

  20. I like it but I grew up eating liverwurst (German Jewish family). I think it used to be more popular when French food was seen as the height of classy cuisine.

  21. In the US, pate is “fancy” food, and often perceived as somewhat alien. Snails and sweetbreads are similar. (I mention those just in case either of those are “fancy” and alien where you are, in case it helps communicate the vibe.)

  22. It *used* to be popular between the 70’s-90′ but it went the way of the Jello salad.

  23. I’ve eaten pâté my whole life (French grandma) and love it! However, not many people will share it with me. The only other people I know who like it are my mom and my friend from Greece. That just means more for me! And my favorite American pâté is the truffle chicken pâté from Trader Joe’s. 😛 It has a brandy aspic on top that is really nice!

  24. I love pate and have made it at home, but I am definitely an outlier. I wish it were more common and easier to find here, but unfortunately it does come across as cat food in the US.

  25. If you wanted to have a starting point for explaining pate to an American who’s never heard of it, you could start with, “OK, imagine a cold sliced meatloaf…” But then they would say “ugh” and you would say “ugh” and there would not be success.

    Edited to add: Yes, I forgot meatloaf sandwiches.

  28. I grew up eating braunschweiger/liverwurst, not really fully grasping what it was but loving it. Now I regularly eat that, pate, etc. The Chicago area has plenty of pate on menus at a lot of places. I guess it all depends on what you grew up with and where

  30. It reminds me of the potted meat my mom gave me as a kid. I associate it with poverty and mildew.

  31. Pate is common in my world, grew up in New Orleans and we always had it along with hogshead cheese.

    I make a mean chicken liver mousse

  32. I was brought up on liverwurst and bratwurst. Poor man’s pâté. So as we got older and could afford the finer things in life, pâté definitely became a part of that. The occasional foie gras was an even nicer upgrade. I can’t name a single acquaintance or friend that has had, or would have foie gras. I, too, brought a nice pâté to a Christmas party last year. My son, husband, and I were the only o es who ate any. I passed on the bacon wrapped lil smokies in BBQ and grape jelly. I don’t have a good answer or a good reason, but I would agree with your assessment. Invite us!

  33. I like pate, but you are correct about Americans on the whole.

    In America, pate is not commonly eaten, and there is a lot of low-rent food similar to pate that I think would make the typical American associate the look and taste with something less desirable.

    I think most Americans probably associate the look, smell, taste of pate with cat food, hot dogs, spam, “potted lunch meat,” chopped liver, etc.

    Americans that are more well-traveled or familiar with fine dining are probably more open to it.

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