Bird’s Nests Q&A

How are Cave Nests and House Nests different?
• Based on the nest building habits of swiftlets, bird’s nests are divided into house nests and cave nests. The former are made by birds that nest under the roofs of houses while cave nests are harvested from caves and cliff walls, though the birds that make these nests are the same species. Because cave nests are located high up in mountain caves it is often difficult to determine whether they contain unhatched eggs and therefore collection more frequently results in eggs being damaged. In contrast, it is far easier to tell if there are eggs in house nests and ensure that they have hatched or the swiftlets have left the nest. In other words, harvesting house nests avoids ecological problems and also ensures a greater number of swiftlets are born. Xiyuantang’s products use house bird’s nests and although the nutritional value of the different nests is the same, their taste and flavor do differ slightly. Cave nests are chewy, take longer to cook and are much more expensive (because of the difficulty associated with harvesting them and the relatively lower number available). On that basis we recommend house nests as being better value for money.

Does the harvesting of bird’s nests raise any ecological issues?
Because the market price for house nests is relatively high and they are easy to harvest, house owners tend to want the birds to continue laying eggs so that there will be more swiftlet nests in the future. A house owner from the Indonesian island of Java observes that there has been a gradual increase in the number of swiftlets in recent years and as such the consumption of house nests has no environmental impact.

How are red colored bird’s nests (血燕) created?
• The old wife’s tale that a red colored birds nest is created when the swiftlets are so exhausted from building the nest that they cough up blood is completely untrue. When such a nest is first completed it is slightly yellow or pale grey in color (unusually white nests may have been artificially bleached), because such nests contain a relatively high level of mineral and iron substances, which after a period of oxidization, slowly change from yellow to red. Some consumers prefer blood red nests because they can be cooked for longer and are crunchier.

Why do we recommend buying dried bird’s nests? What are the differences between cooked dried bird’s nests, ready-to-serve bird’s nests and jars of bird’s nests with rock sugar?
• Experts at preparing bird’s nests often buy dry nests which they then cook because it is possible to determine the quality of a nest by looking, in the same way that coffee aficionados buy quality beans to make their own coffee and would never consider buying the instant coffee sold in supermarkets. Although the quality of nests used to make ready-to-serve bird’s nests or bird’s nests with rock sugar are of a different quality it can be very difficult for most consumers to tell the difference, which is why they need to check carefully how much real bird’s nest, water or rock sugar is contained in such products. As such, buying a dry bird’s nests and cooking it oneself is perhaps the safest choice. In this context, reputable firms selling dry nests play an extremely important role when seeking to determine whether one has the ability to recognize a quality bird’s nest.

Are dry bird’s nests expensive?
Eating dry bird’s nests is more down-to-earth and economic. For example, one half kilo of top quality Indonesian White Swallow Bird’s Nest (印尼金絲燕窩) costs about NT$50,000. Assuming one consumes one 150cc bowl per day then it would last about 4-5 months, which works out a roughly NT$350 a bowl. In addition, the bird’s nest content could be 3-10 times higher than in jars of bird’s nests with rock sugar and in a top restaurant a bowl would sell for about NT$1200-1500 though the quality would be guaranteed. The main problem is that bird’s nests take a long time to cook which makes it difficult for busy people to do the cooking themselves. In such a situation, feel free to peruse the “ready-to-serve instant bird’s nest” offerings from Xiyuantang. These are all cooked by experts and provide customers with a wide range of high quality products to choose from.

How are the bird’s nest sold by Xiyuantang different from those sold by other bird’s nest producers?
• Xiyuantang bird’s nest products are 100% pure dry bird’s nest, with no added edible paste (塗膠) or bleaching and guaranteed quality. In order to ensure consumers have the freshest selection of products, Xiyuantang has developed the only “ready-to-serve instant bird’s nest” product currently available. These can be ordered today, selected, cooked and delivered to the customer’s home the following day. Moreover, each jar of “pre-cooked instant bird’s nest” product is signed by an expert to guarantee its quality. There are even sugar free or minimal sugar product choices, an example of the professionalism that underscores the products sold by Xiyuantang.

How to cook bid’s nest

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