Strasbourg paste was a commercial version of Pâté de Contades (“pâté de foie gras de Strasbourg”.)
They were sold in decorative ceramic pots by companies such as Crosse & Blackwell, and Thistle. The pots are now collectors’ items.
Inside the pot, there was a layer of fat on top to help preserve the meat underneath.
History Notes
In 1790, a man named Nicolas Francois Doyen, who had been a cook for the president of the Bordeaux parliament, had come to Strasbourg to work for Clause. He suggested a version of the pâté that would have truffles in it (which some French people still disagree with.) This version became known as “pâté de foie gras de Strasbourg aux truffes du Périgord.” Doyen left two years later to set up his own shop.
Literature & Lore
“Take four ounces of freshly-boiled rice, mix with it the contents of a jar of Strasbourg paste (not the fat, only the pâte) and work up lightly but thoroughly with a fork.” — Riz à La Strasbourg recipe. From Soyer, Nicholas. Soyer’s Standard Cookery. Sturgis & Walton Company. 1912
“As for small bills, they ranged from receipts for work done upon the estate from AD 1500 to “Boxes of Strasbourg Paste” bought of L Wetten Confectioner at the Three Balcony’s, Bruton Street, Berkeley Square, in 1783.” [Ed. referring to papers found in the Montague collection.]
— Scott, Sir Sibbald David. “On Some Old Papers Found in a Tower of Cowdray House. In Sussex Archaeological Collections. Sussex Archaeological Society. George P. Bacon: Lewes, Sussex. 1863. Page 69