The types, Textures and Shapes of Bird’s Nest
The different products of bird’s nests that can be found in the market include the natural whole nest, nest strips, nest pieces, nest threads and the irregular shaped nest cake processed from nest threads.
The marketed bird’s nest are produced by three different swallow species
The swiftlet: The nest of swiftlet is constructed entirely by its saliva and is commonly termed a whole nest. Since the swiftlet feet on the different food, the saliva and the nest differ in color, varying farm from mainly white, yellow, grey, red and purple. The whole nest gives the best nourishing and replenishing effects to humans. The cooked bird’s nest taste mellow. (Swiftlets are small in size, only about 9 cm in length)
The feathered swallow: This little bird also constructs its nest from saliva and feathers. These nests are of less purity than the whole nest made by the swiftlet. After disintegration and removal of the feathers and impurities, the nest is molded into the shape of a nest cake. The nest cake comes in beautiful shapes and the colour is mainly white and yellow. The therapeutic value of the nest cake is only second to the whole nest. The nest cake has a good swelling capacity. The feathered swallow is found in caves in Malaysia. It has a slightly longer body than swiftlet.
The grass swllow: the body of the gross swallow is the grass is about 12 cm long. The nest is comprised of saliva and grass. Its purity is second to the nest of the feathered swallow and is the cheapest to purchase. Most of the nest pieces and nest threads sold in the markets are from gross swallows. They are the products after the nest has been disintegrated and impurities have been removed. The nest of grass swallow is mainly grassy and yellow in color. The swelling capacity is low but the price is reasonable. It is an excellent choice for beginner
