Chinese Millionaires Eat Birds Nests as Delicacy

Are you willing to pay up to $100 for a bowl of birds nests soup?

In Asia, especially China and Indonesia, birds nests of swiflets have become one of the most expensive edible commodities. People hunt for it to harvest. The best quality of swiftlets Birds Nests can be found in Gomantong and Niah, Borneo. It is a rare and valuable product. Nowadays, one kilogram of swiftlets’ nests averagely retail for about 2,500 US dollar. This is the price of nature produced Birds Nest. These are the ones formed naturally without any human intervention. You can get cheaper Birds Nest from the Birds Nest farmer across South East Asia.

Chinese Millionaires Eat Birds Nests as Delicacy

For over 400 years, Chinese people have been consuming birds nests. Especially in soup. Its strong taste needs to be balance with herbs. That is why you will mostly find birds nests soup in ginger broth. In Hong Kong restaurants, you can have a taste of a bowl of birds nests soup for 30 – 100 US dollar. This makes it one of the most expensive soups considering its simplicity.
Want to taste the more modern and different kind of birds nests dish? Try out Gordon Ramsay’s birds nests desert.
The nest itself is made of the bird’s solidified saliva. Yup. Sometimes it comes in white color, sometimes it is brown or dark brown. The darker it is, the more expensive it costs. It all depends on the bird’s diet. It is believed that this Birds Nests is very useful in keeping good health.

Is it true or is it just placebo effect?

Edible Birds Nests contain mainly amino acids, carbohydrates and mineral salts. The major ingredients of edible Birds Nests are glycoproteins. Amongst the carbohydrates in edible Birds Nests, sialic acid (9%) is the major one. It was found that exogenous source of sialic acid may contribute to neurological and intellectual advantages in infants. However, the nutritional and biological mechanisms of sialic acid in human body are still under investigation. The other major carbohydrates include 7.2% galactosamine, 5.3% glucosamine, 16.9% galactose and 0.7% fucose.
Amino acids and mineral salts are also important components in edible birds nests. Three non-essential amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid, praline) and two essential amino acids (threonine and valine) can be found. They could facilitate normal body functions such as cell repair and promote immunity. Edible birds nests is rich in mineral salts. It contains high content of sodium and calcium. It is because the source of edible birds nests is derived from saliva Collocalia inhabiting mainly in limestone caves. In addition, low levels of magnesium, zinc, manganese and iron are also detected in edible birds nests.

Are Birds Nests Vegan Food?

Edible Birds Nest, also know as cubilose, is a popular delicacy in Asia, made from the salivary excretions of swallows. Instead of twigs and straw, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of gummy saliva along with other materials. The nest is created to look like a shallow cup placed on the wall of a cave. The saliva, will harden into tightly woven strands. The saliva is considered the cement that holds the entire nest together, and the strands are interwoven throughout the nest. Impurities woven into the strands must be picked out prior to consumption. Once the nests are harvested, they are cleaned and sold as a delicacy to restaurants and individuals for consumption. They are mostly harvested in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the south of China.

“Can vegetarians eat Birds Nests?”

In a span of 3 days, coincidentally, I have been asked this question 3 times. (1) By a FaceBook Fan who dropped us a message. (2) By a Chinese restaurant owner whom we are partnering with. (3) By a Finance and HR Head of a local IT company whom would like to engage us for our health talk.
It is a very good question, and I’m pretty sure there have been debates on whether or not Birds Nest is suitable for vegetarians. So, is it a nest? (which also means it is a non-living object) Or, is it an animal by-product?
Firstly, let us take a look at what edible Birds Nests are made of. Edible Birds Nests are made from the salivary excretions of swallows.The gummy saliva, will harden into tightly woven strands. The saliva is considered the cement that holds the entire nest together, and the strands are interwoven throughout the nest. Such salivary excretions is super rich in nutrients, almost 100% proteins and essential amino acids. The birds made their nests for the sole purpose of laying eggs in the nests, and they will abandon the nest after the chicks have hatched. After which, these nests would be harvest by humans as health/tonic foods.

Next, we consider the common definition of a vegetarian: a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, such as eggs, milk, or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc. In additional, the choice of being a vegetarian may also be influenced by either moral, religious, and/or health reasons.
An interesting comparison is this: Can one compare the saliva of the swalllows, or swiftlets, to say milk or cheese, which are also derived from within an animal? Or, should one view the nest as a natural object, which contains a high concentration of amino acids?
Depending on how one interprets the definition of vegetarian, and what is one’s reason(s) behind being a vegetarian, Birds Nests (which technically is an animal’s saliva and not an animal’s body part) may, or may not be considered as vegetarian food. It would be up to the individual to consider the above factors, and form an opinion on his/her own based on their beliefs.
Just as there are vegetarians who consume eggs and cheese, there are vegetarians who consume edible Birds Nests.

What are Birds Nests

Edible Birds Nest, also know as cubilose, is a popular delicacy in Asia, made from the salivary excretions of swallows. Instead of twigs and straw, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of gummy saliva along with other materials. The nest is created to look like a shallow cup placed on the wall of a cave. The saliva, will harden into tightly woven strands. The saliva is considered the cement that holds the entire nest together, and the strands are interwoven throughout the nest. Impurities woven into the strands must be picked out prior to consumption. Once the nests are harvested, they are cleaned and sold as a delicacy to restaurants and individuals for consumption. They are mostly harvested in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the south of China.
Birds Nests are considered to be high in nutrients; especially proteins, calcium, potassium and other minerals, traditionally believed to provide a wondrous array of health benefits. These include aiding digestion, soothing sore throats, alleviating asthma, improving focus, and an overall benefit to the immune system.

Classification of Birds Nests and how to choose Birds Nests

Birds Nest is a general term used to describe the nests of birds belonging to the Apodidae family.
The key categories for consumption are:

1. saliva nest (Bai Yan, being more than 90% pure saliva),
2. feather nest (mixture of saliva and feathers), and
3. grass nest (mixture of grass, twigs, feathers and saliva).

Among these, saliva nest is the most popular, and the best types. Birds Nests can also be classified as(1) cave nest and (2) house nest, and the nests are named according to where they are built and harvested. So, what are cave nests and what are house nests?
Some people thought that house nests are made or manufactured, OR, they think that the swiftlets which build their nests in houses are reared birds.
Not true.
Swiftlets naturally build their nests in caves, but it is dangerous, difficult, and time consuming for man to harvest the cave nests from very high cave walls and cave ceilings. Cave nests generally cost more. Also, the environment in a cave is less hygienic and cannot be controlled. More efforts are required to thoroughly clean cave nests.
So, man is smart. They started building tall airy structures, which stimulate the conditions in a cave, in the natural habitat of the swiftlets. To attract the birds to come into these houses to build their nests. The environment in these houses are much cleaner than in a cave and can be controlled. Which also means, better quality and larger nests can be harvested from bird houses, and at a lower cost too.
Saliva nests come in the colours blood red, orange, yellow and white, generally depending on the colour of the natural food which the bird consumes everyday. Therefore, the colour of the Birds Nests is not necessarily an indication of their nutritional values. White nests, being “young nests” made from pure fresh saliva of the birds, are a common type of house nests that are harvested in the early stages of the life cycle of the Birds Nests.

Grading of nests

Saliva white nest produced by swiftlets (Bai Yan) are considered the one of the purest, finest and most nutritious. They are sold in different shapes, hence the grading of nests (listed from lowest to highest grade) as follows: nest chips, nest thread, nest cake, nest stripes and complete “cup-shaped” whole nest. Complete cup shaped nests, also known as whole nests, or Yan Zhan (燕盏), are the most valuable ones, typically graded Super A Grade.