Things You Need To Know Before Buying Edible Bird’s Nest

Things You Need To Know Before Buying Edible Bird’s Nest

Our parents or relatives have probably fed us Bird’s Nest soup at some point, and we’ve consumed it at their behest, willingly or not.

But if there’s one thing that’s clear as day, it’s that the folks seem to have an unfaltering love for the delicacy. From meeting your in-laws to family reunions, if you’re searching for that one-size-fits-all gift that’s bound to impress - it’s Bird’s Nest. But this quick fix doesn’t come cheap; so it’s important to know exactly what you’re consuming, and how to make sure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck.

1. How is Bird’s Nest produced?

After the eggs have been laid and hatched, the baby swiftlets will remain in the nest until it is able to fly away independently. The Bird’s Nest becomes abandoned and will never be re-used. If not harvested, scavengers such as ants, lizards and cockroaches will consume the Bird’s Nest.
Bird’s Nest is produced by Swiftlets (Collocalia species). They use a glutinous secretion, also known as “nest cement” to bind together materials for nest building, or construct a whole nest with it. The nest cement is secreted from a pair of sublingual glands located beneath the tongue of the swiftlet.
A Swiftlet Edible Bird's Nest is built primarily for laying eggs and housing the baby Swiftlets.
After the eggs have been laid and hatched, the baby swiftlets will remain in the nest until it is able to fly away independently. The Bird’s Nest becomes abandoned and will never be re-used. If not harvested, scavengers such as ants, lizards and cockroaches will consume the Bird’s Nest.

2. How often to eat Bird’s Nest soup ?

So how often to eat Bird’s Nest ? We recommend 5 g of dried Bird’s Nest (60-80 ml of Bird’s Nest soup) a day. A small amount of Bird’s Nest goes a long way towards preserving your health and beauty.
How often to eat Bird’s Nest
Scientifically, proteins which make up 60-70% of Bird’s Nest are eliminated within hours by enzymes in the body.
Furthermore, not all this proteins can be absorbed by the body. This means small and frequent dose of Bird’s Nest is much more effective, since excess Bird’s Nest generally gets eliminated and removed from the body.
Continuous dose is desirable to give you the sustained effect.
So how often to eat Bird’s Nest ? We recommend 5 g of dried Bird’s Nest (60-80 ml of Bird’s Nest soup) a day. A small amount of Bird’s Nest goes a long way towards preserving your health and beauty.

3. How to identify the genuine Bird’s Nest?

Bird’s Nest is an expensive and nutritious product. Thus, it is important to distinguish a genuine piece of Bird’s Nest. In the market, there are many unethical businessmen who would increase the weight of Bird’s Nest by adding additives like white fungus, jelly and animal skin.
Appearance: Good and genuine nests consist of two main types of filaments:
The outer layer that has longer and bigger filaments whereas the inner part has finer, shorter filaments.
After Cooking: When double boiled for 1-2 hours the Bird’s Nest inner filaments become water-soluble.
The outer filaments contain mainly minerals; it is less soluble but gives Bird’s Nest its signature fibrous taste and appearance.
Odour: During double boiling a fine scent of near albumin smell will occur.
Much like the smell of faint cooked egg white.

4. How to cook Bird’s Nest in slow cooker (or double boiler)

Add 2 tablespoon of rock sugar and further cook for another 5-10 minutes. Buying Bird’s Nest from Hello Nest, they will give free rock sugar or special dried lotus.
1) Soak the Bird’s Nest until soft in tap water. This may take up to an hour.
I usually consume one whole piece, which is actually quite alot. Is even sufficient for 2 people.
2) Add the softened Bird’s Nest, together with about 250mL of water. Using slow cooker or the double-boil method, no lost of water volume.
3) Switch on and turn to high. For my cooker, it takes about 45 mins if I started out with room temperature water. But it is much faster if I use hot water.
4) Add 2 tablespoon of rock sugar and further cook for another 5-10 minutes. Buying Bird’s Nest from Hello Nest, they will give free rock sugar or special dried lotus.
5) Serve warm or chilled. Wala!

5. How to cook Bird’s Nest with rock sugar in a double boiler (simple Bird’s Nest soup recipe)

You can also cook Bird’s Nest soup with rock sugar using a slow cooker like above method.
- Prepare a double-boiler and fill the external pot with water that covers almost half the internal pot.
- Place the drained Bird’s Nest in the internal boiler and add 1 - 2 bowls of water depending of the pieces cooked.
- Cover both the internal and external pots and start boiling the pot.
- Once it's boiling, turn to low flame to continue to boil for another 2 - 3 hours.
- When the Bird’s Nest is cooked to desired texture, stir in rock sugar to taste and cover for about 5 minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve fully
- Do remember to check the water in the external pot is not dried up and sufficient throughout the boil. Once cooked you can have your Bird’s Nest served hot or cold in a bowl depends on your preference.
You can also cook Bird’s Nest soup with rock sugar using a slow cooker like above method.

6. What are the health benefits of eating Bird’s Nest?

Many clinical trials of using Bird’s Nest as an anti-cancer food is now currently being conducted.
From the chemical analysis report of pure Bird’s Nest, we can identify soluble amino acids that will help to repair body cells and generate new cells. The antioxidant helps to eradicate free radicals in the body.
Bird’s Nest also contains EGF(epidermal growth factor) which produces an anti aging effect, making regular Bird’s Nest consumers young and radiant looking.
Many clinical trials of using Bird’s Nest as an anti-cancer food is now currently being conducted.

7. How do you store uncooked Bird’s Nest?

Dried Bird’s Nest can be kept for 6 months to 1 year, preferably in an air tight container in a cool and dry room or in the refrigerator. So, it is very easy to keep the Bird’s Nest and you can get your bulk purchase now to enjoy our cheaper bulk price!
You need to ensure that the Bird’s Nest is dry. When you detect some moisture in your Bird’s Nest, you can dry it in front of a fan in an air conditioned room for a couple of hours. DON’T dry the nests under direct sun as it might damage the protein. Dried Bird’s Nest can be kept for 6 months to 1 year, preferably in an air tight container in a cool and dry room or in the refrigerator. So, it is very easy to keep the Bird’s Nest and you can get your bulk purchase now to enjoy our cheaper bulk price!

8. How to cook Bird’s Nest for pregnancy:

I think the home-made Bird’s Nest soup tastes more natural and possesses a pretty strong 'egg-like' smell than instant or bottled Bird’s Nest drink bought from supermarkets or TCMshops. Nevertheless, the plain home-made Bird’s Nest soup is still bearable to drink.
How to cook Bird’s Nest for pregnancy: here are easy steps for you
Ingredients:
1pc Dry Bird’s Nest
1 cup Hot water
1 cup Drinking water or boiled then cooled water, for soaking
5-6 pcs Rock/Lump sugar
Methods:
Step 1. Soak the dry Bird’s Nest in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes. Use drinking water or water that has been boiled and cooled down to soak the Bird’s Nest. After 30 minutes, carefully strain the Bird’s Nest and throw the water away.
Step 2. Put the soaked Bird’s Nest and pour 1 cup of hot water into a slow cooker. If you prefer thinner soup, you may add more hot water into the slow cooker. Cook the soaked Bird’s Nest and water in the slow cooker for about 2 hours.
Step 3. Once the Bird’s Nest is soft and cooked, add the rock sugar into the Bird’s Nest soup in the slow cooker and stir gently. You may add more rock sugar into the soup if you wish for sweeter Bird’s Nest soup. Turn the slow cooker off.
Step 4. Consume the Bird’s Nest soup when it is cooled.
I think the home-made Bird’s Nest soup tastes more natural and possesses a pretty strong 'egg-like' smell than instant or bottled Bird’s Nest drink bought from supermarkets or TCMshops. Nevertheless, the plain home-made Bird’s Nest soup is still bearable to drink.
I found this article that may be useful in preparing Bird’s Nest soup and alternatives in cooking home-made Bird’s Nest soup to make it more delectable by adding pandan leaves, dried red dates, dried longan, etc..

9. Why do Bird’s Nest come in different colors?

Thus it is a common misconception that blood nest is formed when the swiftlet vomits blood. Another misconception is that the swiftlet’s different diets give rise to different colour of nests.
When Bird’s Nest is first formed by the swiftlets, they are white in colour; thus it is fair to say that white Bird’s Nest (Bai Yan) is the purest form of Bird’s Nest. As the Bird’s Nest spend more time in the house, natural fermentation of the nest gradually takes place and the nest absorbs minerals such as iron from the walls and water, slowly changing its color from white to yellow (Jin Si Yan) and then orange and finally red (Blood nest). Thus it is a common misconception that blood nest is formed when the swiftlet vomits blood. Another misconception is that the swiftlet’s different diets give rise to different colour of nests.