Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth (coulis) of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, langoustine, crab, shrimp, or crayfish. The French bisque is one of the most popular seafood soups around the world.

Etymology

It is thought the name is derived from Biscay, as in Bay of Biscay.

Method

Bisque is a method of extracting flavor from crustaceans not perfect enough to send to market. In authentic recipes, the shells are ground to a fine paste and added (sometimes with rice) to thicken the soup. Julia Child remarked: "Do not wash anything off until the soup is done because you will be using the same utensils repeatedly and you don't want any marvelous tidbits of flavor losing themselves down the drain."