Bird Nest Classification by Country of Origin
Edible bird’s nest only originate from South East Asia.
1) Indonesia – Texture is smoother, softer and cleaner with fewer impurities as the majority of the nests are harvested from Indonesia’s house nests. Indonesia produces approximately 80% of the world’s supply.
Kalimantan – Kalimantan birdnest is whiter and cleaner due to the rainy season and the farm house are located close to the sea. The price is also the highest among all the other region in Indonesia.
Java/Semarang – Java Nest is more yellowish in colour and contains more impurities like feathers and egg shell (which requires more effort in cleaning) because of the hot weather.
2) Thailand – These birds nests are thicker and firmer with higher density thus it requires more soaking and cooking time. As the majority of the nests are cultivated from the caves with a small production volume, the prices are generally higher.
3) Malaysia – With higher production of feather prime nests bird’s nest, bird’s nest from Malaysia are usually processed into cakes and prices are low.
4) Vietnam – These bird’s nest are higher quality and richer taste and aroma due to an ideal environment conditions for bird’s nest in Vietnam. Bird’s nest here are limited in supply and prices are higher.
Cooking Duration
There is a misconception that bird nest that turns to water easily are faked. This is completely wrong. Birdnest are swiftlet saliva, naturally, they should be easily turn into liquid. In fact, those that requires longer cooking time are signs that the nest are added with preservative, making it harder to soften it. Our nest only requires 1-2 hours soaking in water and 30-45 minutes double boiling
What is Jin Si Yan?
Jin Si yan is essentially house nest that was kept longer in the farm than the rest of the nest. Reason could be the there are eggs or baby swiftlets still in the nest, so farmer will wait until they left the nest before harvesting. The nest is exposed in the environment longer therefore giving it the golden colour. Prices are generally higher. Some unethical merchant will resort in dying it with coloring and sell for a better profit. Taste and nutritional value wise, it is about the same. It is definitely not worth the money for paying a premium just for the color.