Excerpted and Adapted from Escoffier, A. and P.H. Gilbert. Edited by Charlotte Turgeon and Nina Froud. 1961. The World Authority. Larousse Gastronomique. The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine & Cookery.
is the word pain is a culinary term which applies to dishes, served cold or hot, made of a forcemeat placed in a special mold and poached in a bain-marie, in the case of a dish being served hot, and set in a mold, lined with aspic jelly and chilled, in the case of a dish being served cold.
This type of entrée was very popular in old culinary practice but is not done much nowadays. It has been replaced by mousses, which are also prepared hot or cold.
The various ingredients used for the forcemeats are, as indicated in individual recipes, liver (,I.foie gras), game meat (winged and ground game), poultry and vegetables as well as fish and crustaceans.