Soup Season: Everything You Need to Know about Our Lobster Bisque and Clam Chowder
As the temperatures dip, you can find us warming up with some soup on the stove. And not just any soup, but our tried and true Lobster Bisque and New England Clam Chowder, which are the New England winter warmers that you’ll want to keep stocked in your freezer for a chilly day.
To start with though, it’s important to understand the difference between a bisque and chowder. Though oftentimes confused for one another, they are completely different culinary experiences. A bisque refers to a soup that typically has cream in it for a thicker consistency, and is usually pureed. A bisque will often be vegetable or seafood-based, like our classic Lobster Bisque. For ours, we use chunks of lobster claw and knuckle meat for texture and flavor. Cream, sweet potato, and onions are added to thicken and flavor our bisque, and the best part is, it’s gluten-free, using potato starch instead of flour.
As opposed to its creamy counterpart, chowder is not pureed and will often be chunky, packed with clams and potatoes like ours, or oftentimes bacon and corn (not in our own clam chowder, but a delicious addition nonetheless). It typically has seafood in it, and our New England Clam Chowder has just that, with chunks of clams from the Gulf of Maine added to a creamy soup that’s also thickened with potato starch.
Both are great at keeping you warm during those cold winter months, but it’s important to distinguish between the two in terms of the best time to serve each in order to maximize their culinary potential.
For Lobster Bisque, we prefer to serve it as an appetizer before dinner. It’s elegant but approachable, and always impresses your guests. It’s a super simple preparation using our bisque, and the result will feel like you’re in a 4-star restaurant.
On the other hand, New England Clam Chowder is the perfect outdoor food in the colder months. Heat up some of our chowder at a tailgate or any outdoor gathering this winter, and your friends and family will thank you. Some oyster crackers and fresh herbs make it feel like you spent hours cooking this chowder (no one needs to know it’s a simple reheat on the stove). Ladle it into a mug for some serious New England vibes.
While they’re different in ingredients, flavor, and use cases, the one similarity is that the best Lobster Bisque and Clam Chowder come from New England. If you're lucky enough to call the Northeast home, then you understand the feelings of “hygge” that these soups bring about, but if you’re like the rest of the US and rooting against the Patriots, you can order New England Clam Chowder and Lobster Bisque from us to see what all the fuss is about.
