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Duck for the Best Pâté |
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Mousse-style pate is an elegant, easy holiday party treat -- and more variations are in markets every year. Mousses are usually made of liver, poultry or pork, flavored and whipped to a smooth, spreadable consistency. But which one to choose? Truffled? Aspic on top, or not? Duck liver, chicken or pork? Port or black peppercorns? It can be dizzying to decide. We picked eight kinds that are readily available at supermarkets, pre- packaged or in deli cases. The panel tasted them with water crackers. The best, according to the tasters, was Marcel & Henri Mousse de Foie de Canard et Gras de Porc Truffe au Porto (duck liver with pork fat, truffle and port, $7-$15 a pound, many stores). Scores were high enough to qualify the South San Francisco-made product for the Chronicle Hall of Fame. One taster said it had "the most natural flavor of them all." All five panelists would buy it. A close second was Three Little Pigs (Trois Petits Cochons) Mousse Truffee ($15 a pound, Andronico's), made in New York from pork and chicken livers. Panelists liked its "velvety" texture and "delicate flavor." Four panelists would buy it and one might. Rounding out the top three was Fabrique Delices Pate with Black Pepper (7 ounces, $5.99-$6.99, many stores), made in Hayward from pork and pork liver with aspic. Tasters found it had a good balance of spice and meat flavor. Two panelists would buy it and two might. Three other mousses were clumped far behind the top three. Two other Fabrique Delices products tied for fourth place -- Mousse Truffee ($16 a pound, Mollie Stone's and Whole Foods), made from chicken liver with truffles; and Duck Foie Gras Mousse ($27 a pound, Mollie Stone's). Just behind them was Marcel & Henri Mousse de Foie de Poulet et Gras de Porc au Porto (chicken liver and pork fat with port, $5.50-$15 a pound at Trader Joe's, Safeway and Andronico's). The panel also tasted Fabrique Delices Goose Mousse with Sauterne and Three Little Pigs Duck Mousse Porto but they placed lower. Carol Ness is a Chronicle staff writer. E-mail her at cness@sfchronicle.com. To look up past Taster's Choice columns, search online at sfgate.com/food/tasters/archive. MOUSSE
Marcel&Henri 3 Pigs F.Delices F.Delices F.Delices
TASTERS duck truffle truffle pepper truffle foie gras
Halperin 17 13 18 16 4 Handler 15 16 12 8 2 Manrique 16 15 8 10 15 Ness 16 13 17 0 13 Severson 16 20 13 2 20 TOTALS 80 77 68 40 40 Panelists were Marc Halperin, culinary director, Center for Culinary Development; Shelley Handler, food writer and consultant; Laurent Manrique, executive chef at Campton Place in San Francisco; Carol Ness, Food department staff writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Kim Severson, Food department staff writer, San Francisco Chronicle. A perfect score for any product would be 100. All products are tasted blind.
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