ag.ohio-state.edu/~news/story
Kurt Knebusch
knebusch.1@osu.edu
Dear Twig: Why do they call it birds nest soup? Is it really made out of birds nests?
In short: Yes. Birds nest soup is a Chinese dish that is made from the nest of a bird called the swiftlet. Swiftlets are small, fast birds of southeast Asia. They build their nests in groups high on cave walls. And they make those nests from something weird: saliva, or spit. Ick! The spit comes out in long, thin strands from glands that are located under the tongue. The strands are woven to make a nest that sticks to the wall like glue.
Ew. (But effective.)
It used to be the nests were harvested once or twice a year. The birds were able to raise their young. But lately, however, demand has soared. People are gathering more and more nests and are doing it more and more often.
Which, of course, is bad for the swiftlets. Scientists say their numbers are falling. If the harvest isnt reduced, some types could be gone — extinct — in only five or 10 years.
The gooey, gluey, spitty nests actually dont have much taste. The soup gets its flavor from other ingredients. And, contrary to folk belief, the nests have little nutritional value. They do have a special protein in them, one that boosts immunity. But cleaning the nest before cooking destroys it.
Loogily,
Twig
P.S. Swiftlet cousins in North America include the familiar chimney swift, Chaetura pelagica.
Dear Editor and Other Readers: Three swiftlet species are tapped for their edible nests: the aptly named edible-nest swiftlet, the also aptly named (and geographically more specific) Indian edible-nest swiftlet and the black-nest swiftlet. Some pretty thorough details about the swiftlets — their nests, the buying and selling of them, and the environmental issues — are at www.american.edu
/TED/SWIFT.HTM, part of a Trade Environment Database Web site from American University.
Smart Stuff with Twig Walkingstick,” a service of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences — specifically, of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and of Ohio State University Extension, both of which are parts of the College — is a weekly column for children about science, nature, farming and the environment. For details and to receive Twig free by mail, e-mail or fax, contact Kurt Knebusch, News and Media Relations, SCT, OSU/OARDC,1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, knebusch.1@osu.edu, (330) 263-3776. Available online at http://fusion.ag.ohio-state.edu/news/twig.asp. Available in Spanish as Cosa Curiosas con Juan Palitos at http://fusion.ag.ohio-state.edu/news/twigspanish.asp.
