Swiftlet Nest Soup Knowledge

Swiftlet Nest Soup Knowledge

Swiftlet Nest is the saliva produced by a special species of swallow called the Swiftlet Nest while building the nest. the saliva glues with other impurities (such as feathers) to form the nest.

There are 3 harvesting periods of Swiftlet Nest in a year:

First phase (first harvesting period : from November to January every year-springtime of Indonesia)
In this season of abundance and thriving, the Swiftlet Nest grows up strong and healthy and is able to secrete plentiful saliva. Under such favourable enviroment, Swiftlet Nest harvested during this period is purer and gets bigger expansion after soaking. The body of Swiftlet Nest is obviously larger in size and thicker in texture. Swiftlet Nest in this phase is the most nutritious and contains much more proteins and minerals.
IBNI has its own Swiftlet Nest farmhouses and processing plants in Indonesia. Some time before every Chinese Lunar New Year, IBNI ships fresh ‘first phase’ Swiftlet Nests to Hong Kong through air cargo. This guarantees sufficient supply of ‘first phase’ Swiftlet Nests in the market all the year round.
Second phase & third phase
It is not as good comparing with the first phase Swiftlet Nest in terms of quality and quantity. During these seasons, the Swiftlet Nest is weak due to unfavourable weather and lean food supply. Saliva secretion is slow and lots of feathers fall off, thus increase impurities. The Swiftlet Nest is usually smaller in size and has lesser expandability.

Function:

Over one hundred years of consumption by people, Swiftlet Nest had been confirmed by many scholars & experts and sees it as a kind of tonic with healing effects.
In recent years, the Chineses University of Hong Kong had conducted a thorough and in-depth study on Swiftlet Nest.
It was discovered that the water soluble protein of Swiftlet Nest contains both Mitogenic Stimulation Factor and Epidermic Browth Factor which can:
- enhance the rebirth of cells, reinforce the immune system
- restore energy and stamina
- fortify human body's tolerance towards the damage done by X-rays of other radioactive treatments
- boost heart functions
- supply heat energy to human's body
Swiftlet Nest has become more and more popular over these years. Lot of peolpe see it as health enhancing food. it also promote growth of children, accelerate recovery from illness and after giving birth.
From a nutririon point of view, Swiftlet Nest contains:
- 60% proteins (water soluble proteins) and several amino acids
- 10% water content
- 30% of cellulose, carbohydrates, a little fat and various minaral such as calcium, sulphide, pottassium, phosphor and iodine.
Swiftlet Nest can be taken by people of any age of gender:
- New Born Baby: Stew Swiftlet Nest until it is dessolved in water and then mix it with milk or rice porridge. This can help digestion, regulate digestive ststem and enhance appetite.
- Pregnant woman (during pregnancy): Help promote the brain growth of the fetus.
- Pregnant woman (giving birth) :speed up revovery of body shape and bring back beauty
- Children: Improve immune ststem, facilitate healthy growth of body and brain
- Adolescents: Accelerate metabolism, strengthen the body functions. Giving fine and fair skin.
- Tension, workload fatique: Relieve tiredness and alleviate pressure.
- Weakness after illness, asthma patient: Regain energy and strength, improve immune ststem and smooth breathing
- People suffering sleep disorder and having hot body characteristic: Dissipate intestinal heat, moisten lung

Identified by its origin, Swiftlet Nest can be catrgorized as "cave nest" and "house nest"

House Nest (including common white Swiftlet Nest and house grass Swiftlet Nest)
House nest is the Swiftlet Nest built inside a special house called 'farmhouse'. The swiflet builds its nest on the beams and walls inside the house. The Swiftlet Nest, therefore, may bear slight wood-chips smell. Farmhouses are mainly found in the coastal area of Indonesia, particularly around Badong, Balai and Java. Workers conduct inspection on the Swiftlet Nests in the farmhouse regularly and cut the nest down for further processing (removal of feathers and impurities) in the plant.
The characteristics of House nest are: good quality, few detached feathers and having smooth mouth-feel. Its expandability is high after soaking 5 to 7 times in average. White Swiftlet Nest has softer mouth-feel but cannot be stewed too long. It is preferrable to stew the nest for 30 to 45 minutes before serving. Furthermore, house nest can be classified as yellow Swiftlet Nest (golden Swiftlet Nest) and red Swiftlet Nest(bloody red Swiftlet Nest).
If the stewing time is too long (over 1 to 2 hour), the Swiftlet Nest will dissolve in water and disappear.
Cave Nest (including cave Swiftlet Nest, cave grass Swiftlet Nest and feather Swiftlet Nest)
Cave Swiftlet Nest os harvested in caves and therefore is absorbs plentiful mineral from the rock. Workers use a special kind of tool to pick the Swiftlet Nests.
Cave Swiftlet Nest is mainly in beige of yellow colour. Comparing to house nest, it contains more hair feathers, has firmer tissue and bigger expandability. It can be stewed for a longer time and the stewed Swiftlet Nest gives our fragrant smell with good mouth-feel.