Chowder and Bisque

Appears in

Published 2009

About

Originally chowder was a thick soup made from fish or shellfish, but the term is now applied to any rich, chunky soup, with corn chowder being a popular example. Chowder comes from the French word chaudière, the cauldron used by fishermen to cook their soup. Clam chowder is popular in North America — the New England version uses a milk or cream base while Manhattan chowder has a tomato and herb base.

Like chowder, bisque is a rich, thick soup, usually made from shellfish and flavoured with white wine or cognac and cream. Typically, bisque is made using crab, lobster or oysters. Today, the term bisque is misused to mean any smooth, creamy soup, including vegetable or chicken.