Tips for Edible Birds Nest

Storage of Edible Birds Nest

Edible Birds Nest is an expensive commodity and it should be stored carefully to avoid molding due to dampness. You can store Edible Birds Nest in clean plastic boxes lined with desiccating materials and airtight cover in a dry place. It is particularly important to keep the Edible Birds Nest dry while storing. In case you find that the nest has become moist because of humidity, you need to blow dry it first. You can proceed to cooking and store the remaining Edible Birds Nest in an airtight container in a cool and dry place.
However, there is one thing that should be taken care of. You should not store the Edible Birds Nest in refrigerator. Putting it in the fridge causes condensation since the temperature of the container varies from that of the refrigerator. The nest may become even moister. Therefore, this is not an appropriate method of storage for Edible Birds Nests. Some people still keep it in the fridge. However, the nest lasts for about a week if you store it like that.
If you are not going to cook the nest directly after cleaning, you must squeeze dry it and put it in a clean and dry container. For storing it for longer time, you must store it at room temperature.

Tips for Edible Birds Nest

Fake Edible Birds Nest

In Asian market, numerous fake edible Edible Birds Nest can be found. This is because the demand for the product is very high and supply is relatively very low. There are several methods used by businesspersons to create fake Edible Birds Nests:
Dyeing: The white nest is dyed with red or yellow color and sold as red nest or yellow nest.
Coating: The nest is coated with products like fish powder, egg, flour, etc. to enhance the brightness of surface. This also increases weight and thickness.
Faking: Products such as bleached seaweed or resin is used to create imitations of Edible Birds Nest.

Edible Birds Nest Recipe

Edible Birds Nest is made by the swiftlet bird using its saliva. The saliva hardens when it is exposed to open air. The Edible Birds Nest is edible and contains extremely high nutrition value. Here, we are presenting a simple recipe to make Edible Birds Nest, which is one of the major staple foods of China. It is a dessert, which contains high amount of proteins. It enhances the quality of cells in our body and regenerates new cells as well. This Edible Birds Nest recipe strengthens the immune system of our body.
If this dessert soup is consumed regularly by women, it promotes skin health and gives smooth complexion to the face. Cooking this soup with Ginseng boosts great health. Let us see how to cook Edible Birds Nest:
• Cooking time焖炖: 120 minutes分钟
• Preparation time准备: 5 minutes分钟
• Total time总共: 2 hours and 5 minutes 2小时5分钟
Ingredients原料:
• Edible Birds Nest 3 pieces 燕窝3片
• Ginseng 10 grams 人参10公克
• Rock sugar 3 large pieces冰糖
• Hot water 2 large bowls热水
Method方法:
• Rinse the Edible Birds Nest. Soak it in cold water overnight or for 3-4 hours. 冲洗燕窝，浸泡在冷水中过夜或3-4小时。
• Take the nest out and pick any free feathers if any.如必要再挑出羽毛
• Rinse Ginseng.洗净人参
• Pour water in a pot and boil it. 锅里倒入水，煮沸。
• Put Edible Birds Nests and Ginseng in a pot and pour 2 hot water bowls in it. 把燕窝和人参在一个锅里和倒2热水碗。
• Place a large tablecloth in the large pot containing water.用大桌布盖好
• Now, place this smaller pot in the large pot over the cloth.把这个小壶在大锅里过布。
• Simmer and let the ingredients cook for 1.5 hours.让食材焖炖1.5小时。
• Add rock sugar and cook for another 30 minutes.加冰糖再煮30分钟。
• Serve hot.趁热享用

Secrets of Edible Birds Nest

Edible Birds Nest is one the most highly valued of the food products of South East Asia. The nest is made by certain species of swiftlets with a high-protein glutinous secretion produced by their salivary glands. The secretion hardens on exposure after the bird has shaped it into a cup-shaped nest. The secretion also serves to glue the nest to the ceiling of the cave or building in which the birds live.   

There are more than 24 species of swiftlets, but only a few produce nests that are deemed edible. The high-protein secretion used in forming the nest is produced by a pair of large, salivary glands under the tongue. The birds mate and raise their young in the nest.
The majority of Edible Birds Nest traded worldwide comes from two heavily exploited species, the White-Edible Birds Nest (Aerodramus fuciphagus) and the Black-Edible Birds Nest (Aerodramus maximus) Their habitats range from the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean to sea caves in the coastal regions of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Borneo and the Palawan Islands in the Philippines. Malaysia is situated right at the heart of the ‘golden triangle’ of Edible Birds Nest production, making it a strong producer in this industry. Edible Birds Nest has been used for centuries in China. Commonly referred to as the ‘Caviar of the East’ it fetches a premium price.

Traditionally, Edible Birds Nest is double boiled with rock sugar to make a delicacy known as ‘Edible Birds Nest‘.The Chinese name for Edible Birds Nest, yan wo translates literally as ‘swallow's nest’. This soup is especially valued by the Chinese and Vietnamese for its reputed health benefits. The nests were first traded in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). There are historical sources stating that between the years 1368 and 1644, Admiral Cheng He introduced Edible Birds Nests to the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty. Borneo was the major source of Edible Birds Nests and these were traded for Chinese stonewares and procelain, iron, brass, gold, glass beads and textiles.
Edible Birds Nest is not just a pleasant food to be consumed and enjoyed; it is also traditionally believed to provide health benefits, such as aiding digestion, raising libido, improving the voice, alleviating asthma and improving concentration.

Nutritional & Functional properties

More than half of EBN’s weight consists of protein. According to Marcone (2005), the composition of Edible Birds Nest is: lipid 0.14 - 1.28%, ash 2.1%, carbohydrate 25.62 - 27.76% and protein 62 - 63%. The major nutrient components of Edible Birds Nest are glycoproteins (Kathan & Weeks, 1969) rich with amino acids, carbohydrate, calcium, sodium and potassium (Norhayati et al., 2010) and abundant sialic acid-containing sugar chains (Kakehi et al. 1994) This unique glycoprotein structure in Edible Birds Nest makes it different from other protein sources such as chicken and fish in term of solubility, functional properties and bioactive compounds. The glycoprotein in Edible Birds Nest contains about 9% sialic acid, 4.19 to 7.2% galactosamine, about 5.3% glucosamine, 5.03 to 16.9% galactose, and about 0.7% fucose (Kathan and Weeks 1969, Tung et al. 2008). The most abundant amino acids are serine, threonine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline, and valine (Kathan & Weeks 1969). The nutrient content of Edible Birds Nest may be affected by seasonal variations and even breeding sites (Norhayati et al, 2010). Edible Birds Nest contains a common 77 KDa protein that has properties similar to those of the ovotransferrin protein in eggs. This protein may be partially responsible for the allergic reactions that sometimes occur among young children who consume Edible Birds Nest products.
Many people questioned whether Edible Birds Nest is really nutritious and have therapeutics properties. Is it true or just a myth? To prove the superiority of Edible Birds Nest, Innovation Centre of Food Technology (MANIS) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), through studies of Edible Birds Nest bioactivities indicated that Edible Birds Nest has the highest antioxidant and antihypertensive activity compared to chicken and fish soups. Anti-oxidant tests like DPPH radical scavenging assay and ABTS radical scavenging assay showed superior power of antioxidant activities. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, Edible Birds Nest shows the highest antioxidant activities compared to chicken and fish soups.

For antihypertensive effect, a study on the bioactivity indicated that Edible Birds Nest has the highest antihypertensive activity compared to chicken and fish soups. Figure 3 showed higher antihypertensive activity with high Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory value. ACE plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure as well as cardiovascular function.
Research has shown that Edible Birds Nest is best cooked within a period of two to four hours. However, the optimum time for cooking Edible Birds Nest is about two hours. It is important not to cook for too long, as besides losing the bioactivities, it also is not practical.

Processing the nests

In the industry, the nests are cleaned by soaking them in water until the nest cement is softened and the tightly bound strands partially loosened. Small feathers and fine plumage are then manually removed with tweezers. The cleaned strands are then re-arranged and molded into chips of various shapes, air-dried, and packaged for sale around the world.

Market demand

While the primary market is the Chinese community around the world, mainly China, Taiwan, Singapore and North America, there are new emerging markets such as Middle East, Japan and Korea. The demand is amplified during Chinese festivals, such as the Lunar Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), when gifts of Edible Birds Nest are synonymous with wealth and good fortune.
Edible Birds Nest is either sold in its original state after harvesting; or in processed form after going through the tedious process of removing birds' feathers and cleaning. Concerns have arisen over the purity and authenticity of the product, and the Chinese authorities have been enforcing more stringent screening of the processed nests. There is now a growing need to establish a standardized benchmark and quality assurance system to ensure the Edible Birds Nest products from Malaysia are genuine and safe for consumption.

Production of Edible Birds Nest

Edible Birds Nests were formerly harvested from caves, principally the enormous limestone caves at Gomantong and Niah in Borneo. With the escalation in demand, these sources have been supplanted since the late 1990s by purpose-built nesting houses. At first, disused shop houses and cinemas were converted into artificial cave habitats but knowledge of what the birds prefer has improved to the point that the birds are now enticed to nest in specially designed reinforced concrete housing provided with the appropriate light, humidity, security and other features. These nesting houses are normally found in urban areas adjoining the sea, since the birds have a propensity to flock in such places. Many people have invested heavily in hopes of attracting the swiftlets to nest. Before 1998, there were about 900 swiftlet farms throughout Malaysia. Five years later, the number of swiftlet farms throughout the country was close to 36,000 units, with an average annualized growth rate of 35% (Hameed, 2007).
The main export markets of Edible Birds Nest are Hong Kong (50%), China (8%), Taiwan (4%) and Macau (3%) with estimated consumption of 160 tons per annum. In Hong Kong a bowl of Edible Birds Nest could cost $30 to $100 USD while a kilogram of white nest (around 90 to 120 nests) can cost up to $2,000 USD. A kilogram of "red blood" nest can cost up to $10,000 USD in Hong Kong and China. As more Edible Birds Nest products are developed, such as beauty and skincare products as well as health products, the future of the Edible Birds Nest industry looks very promising.
According to Kuan and Lee (2005), Malaysia is the world's third largest supplier of Edible Birds Nest after Thailand and Indonesia, contributing 10 percent of the 210 tonnes, worth up to $4 billion US dollars, consumed annually by top buyers in China and Taiwan. According to the Malaysian Federation of Edible Birds Nest Merchants Association Malaysia's annual production of Edible Birds Nests has reached 1 billion ringgit (290 million U.S. dollars) in value. However, the industry suffered a setback in the past two years after China banned imports of the nests, citing health concerns over the content of nitrites in some products. The ban by China has caused prices to drop at least 20 per cent. But producers say that China’s import ban could turn out to be a much-needed wakeup call for better quality control.
In the 1990s, the first comprehensive reports on authentication of Edible Birds Nest were published. These reports demonstrated the possibility to use scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, flame atomic emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and other physico-chemical techniques to determine the authenticity of Edible Birds Nest . These tests are difficult to run, expensive and only work on some of the substances used to imitate Edible Birds Nests. Recently, a China based research team developed a simple but accurate and reliable spectrophotometry method to determine Edible Birds Nest content. The method is based on the reaction between N-acetylneuramic acid and ninhydrin in acid solution. The method evaluates the internal content of N-acetylneuramic acid, a nine-carbon sugar which is one of the components in Edible Birds Nest.