What Is Bisque and Is It Different Than Soup?

We are officially in Soup Season. I love it because soups are so easy to make. Get a bunch of great ingredients, toss them in a pot with water or broth, and let it all simmer until it’s delicious. The variety of options will keep you warm and satisfied as the coming winter darkness consumes us all. This year, I really want to spread my soup wings (or soup legs, which sounds better?) and attempt a bisque. So let’s cuddle up together under a shared blanket and learn all about this unique dish.

What is bisque?

Bisque is traditionally a seafood-based soup, specifically shellfish. Typically, the kind of shellfish used varies between lobster, prawn, crab, shrimp, and crayfish. Though, you will occasionally see modern bisques made with terrestrial ingredients like tomato or butternut squash. 

If you can’t tell by the name already, this concoction comes from France. So it makes sense then that bisques contain quite a large amount of cream; in fact, there is often more cream in a bisque than there is in any “cream of” soups, like celery, mushroom, or broccoli.

What is in a bisque?

The purest form of traditional bisque starts with your shellfish of choice. They are cooked with the shells on. Then, the meat is removed from the shells and set to the side. The shells are then cooked further in a 

mirepoix (diced onions, carrots, and celery), butter, wine (sometimes brandy, as well), and a variety of spices.

At this time, the cream is added and the whole mixture is left to simmer for a while. Then, the shells and (most of) the solid ingredients are strained out and the remaining soup is pureed, then restrained to become the thick, creamy bisque we know and love. If you haven’t already eaten the cooked meat from earlier, you can sprinkle it on top as a garnish.

This is a pretty intricate process and can get expensive depending on your access to fresh shellfish. You could certainly do a quick and dirty version of a bisque at home with some frozen lobster meat and store bought seafood stock. Or, just buy a can of it; there are several options you can find in most grocery stores.

What does bisque mean?

In France, there is the Bay of Biscay—a huge gulf in the Atlantic ocean along France’s western coast that curves all the way down to northern Spain. It’s highly likely that the word bisque is derivative of Biscay.

Oh, and the pronunciation is “bisk.” Like whisk with a “B.”

What is the difference between soup and bisque?

I’ve already delved deeply into the differences between stew and soup, so where does bisque fit into this spectrum?

In the soup/stew dichotomy, bisque is solidly in the soup realm; it eschews the big hunks of meat and vegetables for a much smoother experience. However, bisque does stand out from other soups thanks to its extra thickness from the cream.