UNIQUE FOOD: BIRD’S NEST

Bird's Nest Soup

As you know, bird’s nest is where the birds live in. Mostly, it is made by twigs, dry grass or mud collected and put on a branch of a tree by the birds. But this particular bird’s nest is not made of those materials . It's the nest of swallow or swiftlet birds (Collocalia Fuciphaga).

The swallows, which can only be found in the tropical coastal areas, usually live in dark caves. They make their nests from strands of their gummy saliva, which hardens when exposed to air. The nests are built by the male swallows during the breeding season over a period of 35 days. The shape is similar to a shallow cup and stuck to the cave wall.

The bird’s nests have been consumed in China as a delicacy for centuries. They are usually cooked into the all-known bird’s nest soup (yan wo). In Chinese tradition the nests are believed to be beneficial for human health. Many classical Chinese books, that highlighted on health food, mentioned that swallow’s nest was imported by the Chinese from the Southeast Asian Region since the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907). This fact was also written by Joseph Needham in his book ‘Science and Civilization in China’, Book 3 Volume 4.

In Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the swallow’s nests are quite a big industry. For example in Indonesia, where the swallow or swiftlet birds are known as “walet”. The swallow’s nests produced in Indonesia are known to be ones with the finest qualities in the world. In the country, most of the bird’s nest merchants have started to raise and breed the birds in house-like structures. Shelters are built to attract wild swallows or swiftlets to build nests inside them. These “house nests” are said to have much lower price compared to the “cave nests”.

There are several kinds of swallow’s nests traded in the international market. They are white nest, yellow nest, and the blood-red nest. However there are rumors of a rare type of swallow’s nest exists in Indonesia which only harvested on the island of Flores. It is said that it has the color of blue. Because of its rarity, this  type of nest is sold in price about five times higher than the white nest which already considered to be the best quality.

Consuming the swallow’s nests is claimed to be very beneficial for humans' health. The nests are claimed rich with protein, calcium, iron, amino acid, and other nutrients. There are about 65% of proteins contained in it. Other substances included are moisture (10%), traces of fat (23.3%), and carbohydrates (0.8%). There are about 6% of amino acids contained in the swallow’s nest also.

Due to the amount of nutrients, consuming the nests has the benefits of stimulating the regeneration of cells, enhancing cell-mediated immunity, increasing the resistance of an individual to X-irradiated damage, strengthening the functionality of heart, and replenishing strength and vital energy. For women, consuming the swallow’s nests is believed to be good for rejuvenating, restoring youthfulness and ensuring the glowing and wrinkle-free complexion.

Unfortunately, the high demand on the nests is risking the existence of the particular species of the birds. Many scientists, have been quite concerned with the rapid disappearing of the swallow or swiftlet birds. They have found the reality in some of the caves where the birds usually nesting. The walls in those caves are completely abandoned. They could only find the rotted bamboo scaffolding left by the harvesters. Unfortunately, this does not stop the harvesters from following the birds to their new homes, so they can take more precious nests to sell in the market.

* Gathered from many sources.

* All pictures belong to their rightful owners. I'm just borrowing them.