Though you can make terrines, pâtés and mousses in any old dish, you might want to buy a proper terrine mold. I know I do! But I’m not sure which one to buy so I’m doing a bit of research before I make my decision and I thought it would be helpful to share what I’m learning here with you too.

11 tips for buying or procuring your first terrine dish:

1. Decide if you love making terrines, pâtés, mousses, etc.
2. Start with what you’ve got at home.
3. Raid your mother’s or grannie’s kitchen.
4. Figure out what you’ll use it for.
5. Understand the material options.
6. Choose one that complements your clumsiness factor.
7. Get one with a lid and make sure the lid has a hole in it.
8. Choose one that comes with a press.
9. Stay within your budget.
10. Go rectangular.
11. Choose a colour you love.

Now let’s look further into each of these tips starting with if you even need to buy one at all! By the time you finish reading this article, you should have a better idea of what type of terrine dish will best serve your current terrine objectives.

Your first terrine mold, tip #1: Decide if you love making terrines, pâtés, mousses, etc.

If you don’t know if you even like making terrines, pâtés, mousses or rillettes, why buy a specialized cooking dish right away? If you find out that cooking these types of foods aren’t your idea of a good time, your new terrine mold will clutter your kitchen and then end up in the charity box that you keep meaning to take to the Salvation Army.

So, put down your credit card because the first step to buying a proper terrine mold is not buying one!

Your first terrine mold, tip #2: Start with what you’ve got at home

Terrines are rectangular cooking dishes—though they can also be round or oval—and chances are good that you’ve already got something that will be okay for making terrines at home. For now, anyway.

Equipment options for making terrine without a specialized terrine mold:

• Loaf pan – These are the dishes you might have already to make bread and/or meatloaf in. They can be made of glass, stoneware, non-stick bakeware, cast iron and enamelled cast iron. According to the Joy of Baking website, loaf pans come in three sizes: 8 x 4 x 2.5 inches (4 cups), 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches (6 cups) and 9 x 5 x 3 inches (8 cups).

• Pyrex dish – These are made of oven-safe glass—also called borosilicate glass—and come in many shapes and sizes, including rectangular pans. And, as a bonus, you can pop your creations in the freezer in the same container.

• Mason jars – A one-cup, wide-mouth mason jar is the perfect size for single-serving terrines. Of course, they’re round and won’t give you a typical terrine loaf but, that’s okay in the terrine testing phase.

• Cornbread pan – A specialized cornbread pan is a round cast iron pan divided into eight triangular sections. If you had a terrine recipe that did not call for a water bath, you could use a pan like this. But I wouldn’t do a water bath with a cast iron pan unless it was enamelled. And if you do have a cornbread pan, make some cornbread today!

If you use a dish or multiple dishes that are a different size or shape than the terrine dish that’s recommended in the recipe you’re following, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time. The deeper the ingredients, the longer it takes to cook.

The other thing to keep in mind is you’ll need another pot or pan that’s big enough to contain your adhoc terrine pans—to create your water bath for cooking the terrine.

My experiment with this didn’t go as I expected. I thought I’d use my meatloaf pan but then I realized I didn’t have a pot big enough to fit the meatloaf pan in. I ended up making chicken liver mousse in a mini Pyrex loaf pan, a couple wide-mouth mason jars and a round, two-cup Pyrex dish. It all worked out fine.

Your first terrine mold, tip #3: Raid your mother’s or grannie’s kitchen

Waste not, want not, as they say. Before shelling out for a new terrine mold, why not see if your mom, grannie or auntie has one tucked away, gathering dust? If yes, ask to borrow the terrine dish and remember to say please! If the terrine mold isn’t being used regularly or at all, the answer will probably be yes. To stay in the terrine mold owner’s good books, bring some terrine over the next time you visit and say how much you appreciate the loan.

And then broach the topic of the loan gently. You’ll probably want to keep the terrine loaf but since you asked to borrow it, that wouldn’t be right. There’s no need to make a family relationship awkward over a terrine mold. Instead, try saying something like this, “Mom, I really appreciate you lending me your terrine mold and I’ve already used it a couple of times, but I want to be respectful of the loan. I’m wondering, how long can I borrow this terrine mold for?”

By asking an open-ended question (“how long?”), you put the other person in the driver’s seat instead of pinning your dear old mom into a corner. She raised you better than that!

Unless you were very difficult as a teenager and the adults around you are still recovering from the trauma, I’m guessing your borrowed terrine mold will become a long-term loan or maybe you’ll even hear the words, “Oh, just keep it.”

Either way, bring up your gratitude with words and/or terrine every once in a while. And, when Christmas comes around, bring a terrine as your contribution. [This is tip #3 for using terrine to stay on Santa’s Nice list, which you can read about in my article Terrine for Christmas: 7 Ways to Get on Santa’s Nice List.]   

Your first terrine mold, tip #4: Figure out what you’ll use it for

Okay, if you’ve discovered that terrine making is your jam but there’s no terrine mold stashed away as future family heirlooms, then buying one makes sense. And I applaud you for taking a thoughtful approach.

The first thing you want to figure out is what type of terrines you’ll be making the most. This will help you determine which terrine mold you’ll need the most.

In the fourth edition of Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen, they highlight six types of terrine molds:

• Pâté en croute mold (which is made of metal and comes with hinged sides for easy un-molding).
• Trapezoidal terrine mold.
• Triangular terrine mold.
• Half-cylindrical terrine mold.
• Two-pound enameled cast-iron terrine mold.
• Three-pound enameled cast-iron terrine mold.

The cast-iron terrine molds are similar to each other, just different dimensions and it’s in this type of terrine mold where you’ll find lots of variety and materials (more on materials in the next section).

So, let’s look at what you’d do with each of these types of terrine molds.

Common uses for different styles of terrine molds:

• Making pâté en croûte – If this is your go-to terrine, you’ll probably want a metal pâté en croûte mold that comes with hinged sides. In their book, Pâté, Confit, Rillette: Recipes from the Craft of Charcuterie, Brian Polycyn and Michael Ruhlman say this about pâté en croûte molds, “It is not essential for making pâté in a crust (after all, meat pies are a form of pâté en croûte), but it is a fundamental piece of equipment for the classic preparation.”

• Creating appetizer-sized showpieces – The smaller terrine molds—the trapezoidal, triangular and half-cylindrical metal ones mentioned above—are popular with professional chefs for two reasons (which I learned from the Garde Manger book). First, smaller terrines take more skill and precision, so they show off the chef’s skills better. Second, they allow you to put multiple smaller slices of terrines on appetizer plates for more variety and a stunning presentation.

• Making most pâté and terrine recipes – A heavy rectangular terrine mold is designed for everything else. Brian Polycyn and Michael Ruhlman call Le Crueset’s 1.5-quart lidded terrine mold “the industry standard” and most of the recipes in their above-mentioned book call for that size and type of terrine mold.

If you’re reading this site, you’re probably new (or new-ish) to the world of terrines and pâtés, as I am, so your best bet is to get the most versatile terrine mold which is a rectangular mold made of a heavy material. You can test out other molds as your skill and interest increase but stick with the standard at first. It’s what professionals use too.

But enamelled cast iron isn’t your only option so let’s have a closer look at what materials terrine molds are made of.

Your first terrine mold, tip #5: Understand the material options

Terrine molds come in a variety of materials and it may be helpful to know your options before settling on one to buy.

In the last section, we determined that a heavy terrine mold is suitable for most purposes, but I still want to cover a few material options for pâté en croûte molds, even though that’s not the first one you’ll buy.

Materials that pâté en croûte molds are made of:

• Tinned steel – Tinned steel is steel covered with a thin coat of tin to prevent rust. Tinned steel conducts heat well and it’s not expensive. However, it’s not entirely rustproof; anywhere you scratch it will rust more easily. Some people advise drying tinned steel bakeware in the oven and then coating them with a thin layer of lard or oil to prevent rusting.
• Metal with non-stick coating – Pâté en croûte molds with a non-stick coating can be made of tinned steel or “fine” steel.
• Stainless steel – This is uncommon for a pâté en croûte mold, but I found one on the de Buyer website called, GEO forme – Stainless steel long mould (foldable and with hinges). It’s made in France, of course, and it comes in a solid version and a perforated model (which helps the dough cook evenly, according to the product description). Stainless steel doesn’t rust, which makes it a good choice.

Since I don’t like using metal that rusts easily and I don’t think non-stick cookware is safe, I’d be more likely to choose the French stainless-steel version. Though that site didn’t list the price so I can’t say for sure, ha ha.

Materials that small, trapezoidal, triangular and half-cylindrical terrine molds are made of:

• Stainless steel – This seems to be the only option for these odd-shaped terrine molds which makes it easier to choose! Anyway, that’s good news because stainless steel is safe and easy to clean.  

As I was searching for these types of terrine molds made out other materials, I found a triangular mold made of plastic and I gasped. Fortunately, I regained my composure quickly and investigated further. The plastic one is for ice cream, dessert mousses, etc. and not for baking. Phew!

Materials that standard terrines are made of:

• Enamelled stoneware – Stoneware is made of clay and is safe to use at high temperatures in the oven, but not on the stove (not that you’ll need high temperatures for terrines). It conducts heat well and evenly. The enamel covering gives it some non-stick properties (more like stainless steel, not like actual non-stick bakeware). Stoneware is sturdy but much lighter than cast iron. For example, my Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan—which is amazing for cooking bacon—weighs four pounds while my Staub Cast-Iron Double Burner Griddle—which is the nicest cookware I own but not my favourite—weighs nine pounds. The cast iron griddle is a little smaller than the stoneware pan too.

• Enamelled cast iron – Cast iron is heavy, retains heat well (but isn’t known for heating up evenly) and is prone to rusting if not seasoned properly. However, rust isn’t an issue with enamelled cast iron. Like stoneware, it can be used at high temperatures in the oven but cast iron is also great for the stovetop (not with terrines though, of course.)

• Porcelain – Porcelain is also made of clay like stoneware but because it’s made of kaolin clay (which is white), porcelain bakeware is typically white. I didn’t come across too many porcelain terrine dishes in my research, except a few on the Meilleur du Chef website including their Porcelain Rectangular Terrine Dish.

• Silicone – Silicone is a flexible material made of silicon, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen—it’s been described as a mix between plastic and rubber. It’s very heat resistant and low in toxicity. [Thanks to the Live Science site for helping me understand this strange kitchen material.] It seems to be more environmentally friendly than plastic as it’s chemically inert. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I’m not crazy about the idea of cooking my food in silicone so I wouldn’t buy a silicone terrine pan. Though I do like my silicone oven mitt and I would buy a silicone terrine dish to use for making soap.

So, this narrows down our choices to enamelled stoneware or cast-iron and porcelain terrine dishes.

Quick lesson on what enamel is in bakeware

This is perhaps embarrassing to admit, but I just learned what exactly enamel is today, after more than four decades on this planet! According to Falcon Enamelware, porcelain enamel is “a powdered glass bonded onto steel.”

Your first terrine mold, tip #6: Choose one that complements your clumsiness factor

Whenever I think of buying something for my kitchen, I think of its long-term potential. For example, I have three cast iron frying pans and I find it satisfying to know that I’ll never have to think about buying a frying pan for the rest of my life.

But I also think about how many glass French press coffee pots have come and gone in my house due to a certain someone’s butter fingers. [To preserve marital bliss, I won’t say who!]

So, if you or your loved ones tend to be clumsy in the kitchen, I’d buy a terrine mold that can withstand this clumsiness. You’d hate to see your terrine mold slip out of your fingers and break on the floor, right?

Any of the terrine mold types listed above—except stoneware and porcelain versions—are klutz-proof. However, if you suspect you’ll drop your cast-iron terrine mold off the counter and onto the floor, maybe you should do your cooking and serving in steel-toed boots.  

Your first terrine mold, tip #7: Get one with a lid and make sure the lid has a hole in it

The pâté en croute and the trapezoidal, triangular and half-cylindrical terrinemolds don’t typically come with lids, so this tip applies to the standard terrine molds made of stoneware, porcelain, cast-iron and even silicone.

Terrines are usually cooked covered which means you use a lid, or you make a lid with tin foil. It seems to me that having a lid makes things easier which is one reason to upgrade from your makeshift loaf pan and mason jars to a proper terrine mold.

Most of these non-metal terrine molds come with a lid but be aware that since the word terrine also refers to an earthenware pot, you might see ceramic dishes called terrines that are not for the purpose we’re talking about (making a forcemeat dish). These are the terrines that don’t come with lids. Don’t be fooled.

And beware of ill-fitting lids like the one that evoked the wrath of California Reader, a customer on Amazon, who said this about a “terrine” that came with lid that didn’t quite cut it, “Might as well use a loaf tin rather than paying for a fancy enamel looking dish without a fitting lid!”

Now, onto the hole in the lid.

The hole in the terrine mold lid is for ventilation. The lid creates a tight seal—which means the top of the terrine doesn’t dry out, like when you cook meatloaf in the oven—but you don’t want condensation in your terrine. The small hole in the lid allows the steam to escape slowly from the dish.

For a few minutes, I suspected I was cheating with the second part of the tip—to always make sure the lid has a hole in it. I was searching and searching and about to conclude that they all have holes in them when I found some that didn’t!

I’m no expert but the hole is there for a purpose so get a lid with a hole.

Your first terrine mold, tip #8: Choose one that comes with a press

Many terrine recipes call for weighing down or pressing your terrine, pâté or mousse in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. I’ll tell you what doesn’t work: putting a layer of tin foil on top of chicken liver mousse and then putting a can of clams and a can of sardines on top of the tin foil. Well, it worked okay but not uniformly.

Another option is making your own press out of a piece of cardboard wrapped in tin foil or plastic wrap (which is then weighed down with cans, as above). But that’s awkward for cleaning up.  I also read about a chef who, in his early years in the kitchen, was given the job of taking old plastic cutting boards and cutting them precisely into presses that would fit the kitchen’s terrines. That’s a pain but he did end up with dishwasher-safe terrine presses.  

This tip might not be important to everybody but if you don’t want to DIY pressing your terrine, buy a terrine that comes with a press.

One caveat here: Terrines with presses seem to be common in the stoneware varieties but I didn’t see any cast iron terrines with presses. Strange. Please let me know if you see one so I can add it here.

So, if you’re leaning towards cast iron, you might have to DIY the press after all.   

Your first terrine mold, tip #9: Stay within your budget

Before you lay down your credit card, think about how much you want to spend on this terrine dish and stick to it. If you love making terrines, you can always add a more expensive terrine mold to your collection when it fits better with your budget.

From least to most expensive, it seems to be:

• Silicone terrine molds.
• Metal terrine molds.
• Stoneware terrine molds.
• Porcelain terrine molds.
• Cast iron terrine molds.

To give you an idea of what these prices are, I’ll include some examples from a search today. Obviously, these prices will fluctuate.

Price ranges for different terrine molds:

• Silicone terrine molds – These are cheap, starting at $16 (press included).
• Metal terrine molds – Today, I found metal terrine molds between $35 and $68 at the JB Prince site.
• Stoneware terrine molds – Today, these ones were $52 (Le Creuset in the USA) and $175 (Le Creuset in Canada, what the heck!), $50 (Staub, but this is the one with the ill-fitting lid so beware) and $60 and $77 (both Emile Henry).
• Porcelain terrine molds – Like I said earlier, these aren’t too common, but I looked at one today for $80 (Revol).
• Cast iron terrine molds – Today, I found options for $96 (Paderno), $125 (La Chasseur) and $250 (Le Creuset, though I saw the same one for $199 on a different site so shop around).

A Le Creuset “Goose Pot” costs $895 (free shipping!) so $200 might seem like a steal for their enamelled cast iron terrine dish. But do the right thing and stick to your budget.

Your first terrine mold, tip #10: Go rectangular

This tip is short and sweet: get a rectangular terrine mold at first. You can get round and oval terrine molds—including one that has a rabbit on the lid—but the rectangular ones are the most versatile so start there.

Your first terrine mold, tip #11: Choose a colour you love

One of the great things about stoneware and cast-iron terrine molds is they come in multiple colours so you can pick a colour you love. And, if you love the colour white, then a porcelain terrine mold might be just your thing.

Your terrine mold doesn’t have to match the rest of your cookware. Instead, pick a colour that brings you a boost of joy every time you look at it. You’re worth it!

Which terrine mold am I buying?

After researching the content for these 11 tips, I thought I had come to a decision myself, but I was foiled by Canadian availability.

My first choice was …

• The Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Pate Terrine with Press.  

Why it’s my first pick:

• It comes with a press and the lid has a hole in it.
• The price is less than $75—except maybe not in Canada, where I saw it on Amazon for $175.

My second choice was …

• Le Creuset Cast Iron Pate Terrine.

Why it’s my second pick:

• I didn’t want to shell out $200 for a terrine dish but I’d rather have a cast iron dish than a stoneware dish if the price for Canadians is less than $50 difference. Though I’m not crazy about making a press myself, but I’ll be fine.

When I lay my money down, I’ll come back and add a picture. Until then, I’ll use my little Pyrex loaf pan.

Conclusion

I hope these 11 tips have helped you clarify your terrine mold needs and answered some of the same questions I had hours ago. All the best to you on your terrine making adventures!