could you distinguish any diffrence btw lobster bisque and crab bisque?

[hae young]

hi i this time made crab bisque.
in my region, lobster is very expensive but japanese and also korean's crab is a little cheaper. so i gave it a try. and finished it tasted it.
i am not a food expert so it is perhapse tru that i might not appreciate subtle diffrence btw these two.
how do you guys think? its not so much diffrent thing except amount and texture of meat?
can you guys notice the diffrence between crab and lobster bisque but without knowing in advance which is which( if you didnt see completely those making procedure)?

[maria lorraine]

Yes, to me there are several differences between the two.

Crab is more delicate, lighter, less intense in flavor than lobster. Lobster is richer,
bigger, rounder in flavor. Both are wonderful.

But beyond that, the two bisques are usually made differently.

Lobster bisque has a bit of tomato paste added, and it gives the soup a citrus-y boost and an "umami" roundness. The tomalley and roe add lots of richness, "meatiness" and some brininess, so the dish is not only more intense, it's more complex.Additionally, since lobster is considered a luxury meat, usually more care goes into creating the stock, making it from lobster and shrimp shells.

Crab bisque is less intense and not as rich in flavor. The recipe is less luxurious, usually with more broth and less cream/milk, and no tomato bisque, roe or tomalley. The other ingredients in the bisque are calibrated to not overwhelm the delicacy of the crab.

But let's say you used the same bisque recipe for both crab and lobster. The lobster version would still be slightly bigger and richer because the lobster is. Hope that made sense.

[hae young]

really?if it is so, i think i screwed my crab bisque evn though i liked its concentrated taste.
and i didnt know crab bisque recip do not include tomato paste( i used tomato paste).
in my tasting it, when the stock is concentrated, it was very rich for me with enoug amount of heavy cream.
and beside that can you give me some hint why lobster bisque i had made last time was so salty even without seasoning any. is it because i put tomalley in the stock.
could you give me some advice of not making my bisque salty next time because i wanted to concentrated my lobster stock?

[maria lorraine]

I'll try to help figure out the saltiness with you.
What was your recipe?
Did you make your stock?

[hae young]

this is how i did when making lobster bisque first time. i first steamed one big lobster and i reserved its cooking liquid and plus the juiec cookied in the lobster .
i then put all the innards ( tomalley) into the the cooking liquid (was trying to copy Jaque Pepin's bisque recipe) . i suspect that this is to be blamed for too saltiness but i am not sure. and sauted the shells with tomato paste and poured dry white wine into the pot. simmered it 50 mins. and i tasted it. was too salty unlike crab's even without concentration.

[maria lorraine]

Tomalley is salty, but not overly so. Unless your tomalley was exceptionally salty, I don't think it is the only ingredient in your recipe that contributed a salty flavor.

I say that because usually when a dish is too salty, the saltiness comes from several sources and not just one, and the saltiness in the dish is cumulative.

Many ingredients used in a dish can boost saltiness: bouillon cubes instead of stock, canned tomato projects, salty cooking wine instead of regular wine, salting the stock before it reduced, etc.

I checked the Pepin recipe and didn't see anything that would create an overly salty bisque. Wish I could help you more, but I don't have the answer as to why your soup was so salty.

[hae young]

thanks for the reply. but my last question is that beside richness of lobster, do you think lobster has more sodium than crab or both are similar in degree of saltines

[maria lorraine]

Actually, lobster has slightly less sodium that crab, before any other ingredients are added.

Checked several websites, but here's one that lists the sodium content of fish and shellfish:
http://www.dietbites.com/Sodium-In-Fo...

Just had a thought: after lobsters are caught, they are often held in water tanks that have some salinity. If they tanks are overly salty, that may be the source.

Also, a tactic by some purveyors is to take shellfish that's about to go bad (or chicken, for that matter) and put it into a solution with a huge amount of sodium. Often, it's simple baking soda that's used. That might be the culprit.

Check with the store where you bought your lobster and see/ask how they store their lobsters.

[Icantread]

Maria's absolutely correct. When I thought about your post, what came to mind was lobster being richer, rounder while the crab a bit sharper and lighter flavor (though still intense).

[kobetobiko]

If you are talking about the cooking procedure, I would imagine that the difference will be minimal.

If you are talking about the flavor of the 2 bisques, then it would be very different. The most noticeable difference is the roe / tamale of crabs and lobsters taste very very different, so that will make the two very distinguishable.

Also, the sweetness of the meat is also different. I am not sure if I can describe the difference in words, but I can definitely tell. Since the sweetness of the meat contributes largely to the flavor of the bisque, a lobster bisque and a crab bisque taste different to me.

[hae young]

do you mean lobster tomalley and roe are more salty than those of crabs?

[kobetobiko]

no, it's not the difference of saltiness. They taste different. It's like mussels and clams, they don't taste the same.

[ipsedixit]

I'm not sure there would be any difference, what with all the sauteeing, blending, mixing and cream and wine (and cognac) that goes into making a traditional bisque.