Bisque is a fired piece (bisquette) of unglazed clay used to make pottery, figurines, dolls, knickknacks, ornaments etc. This porous, vitreous ceramic can be created using heat, which causes a chemical reaction (dehydroxylation) in clay (e.g. kaolinite) to irreversibly change:

1. Unearth or procure clay and mold, form, turn, wedge, cast or sculpt into the desired shape. Avoid air pockets.

2. Wrap the piece in plastic wrap and set in a moist environment for several days. Once air-dried, the clay piece is called greenware.

3. Apply no glaze. Place the greenware into a kiln or similar furnace and fire for about three days, a) dry the piece at a low temperature for about 12 hours, b)then fire the piece to approximately 1800 to 2260F (1000 to 1238C) for another day, c) and allow the bisquette to cool to a safe handling temperature of 150F (65C).

External links

• Open Directory Project: Pottery Supplies

Bisque is also a highly-seasoned thick, creamy soup of puréed shellfish, of French origin. It can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp or crayfish. It is thought the name is derived from Biscay, as in Bay of Biscay, but the crustaceans are certainly bis cuites "cooked twice", for they are first sautéed lightly in their shells, then simmered in wine and aromatic ingredients, before being puréed. Bisque is a method of extracting every bit of flavor from imperfect crustaceans not good enough to send to market; if the shells are not ground to a fine paste and added to thicken the soup, it is not really a bisque. Julia Child even 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." (with Simone Beck, Mastering the Art of French Cooking vol II 1970)

Pretty pieces of the shellfish are set aside and garnish the dish. Bisque is served in a low two-handled cup on a saucer —or in a mug.