When is the season for "precious tonic" bird's nest? What varieties do you have? How to tell the true from the false? In what month do you usually pick?

Bird's nest is also known as bird's nest, bird's root and swallow vegetables. eating bird's nest for a long time can not only moisturize the skin, enhance skin elasticity, reduce skin wrinkles and prevent skin aging, but also help eliminate fatigue, relieve mental stress, replenish physical strength, strengthen the brain and strengthen the body. so when is the bird's nest good to eat? How to tell the true from the false? In what month do you usually pick?

Bird's nest refers to the saliva secreted by some Swift of the family Swift and several species of Swift of the genus Swift, and then mixed with other substances to build the nest. According to the place where the bird's nest is built, the bird's nest can be divided into "house swallow" and "cave swallow". The cave swallow has different colors due to the influence of minerals, which can be divided into Baiyan, Huang Yan and Hong Yan, while the house swallow has only one color of ivory. The so-called "blood swallows" on the market are made by farmed house swallows through the "bird dung fumigation method". Bird's nest is one of the traditional precious foods that have been eaten in China since the Ming Dynasty.

When is the best season to eat bird's nest?

First of all, it should be determined according to our own situation, when the autumn is crisp and the weather is driest, eating bird's nest at this time can moisturize it. Generally speaking, bird's nest can be eaten no matter when and what season it is. In addition, it is necessary to adhere to the long-term consumption.

How is the bird's nest formed?

A bird's nest, as its name implies, is the nest of a swallow. But it is not an ordinary swallow's nest, but a special kind of swallow-swift's nest.

Swiftlets belong to the class Ornidae, Rainswallows. They are migratory birds that fly from Siberia and other places to the natural caves along the tropical coast to breed from December to March of the following year. The swift is smaller than the usual swallow, with grayish brown back feathers with golden luster, long pointed wings and four toes facing forward.

The throat of this swallow has well-developed mucous glands, and the saliva secreted can be condensed into solids in the air, which is the main material for their nesting. Swiftlets lay eggs in March and April every year. Before spawning, they fly over the sea and high in the air every day, sometimes up to thousands of meters high, break through clouds, suck rain and dew, and feed on insects, seaweed, silverfish and so on.

After digestion, drill into steep, cool, high-altitude cliff cracks, the depths of caves, spit to build nests. It will take about 20 days to build. The bird's nest is half-moon-shaped, shaped like a human ear, 6-7 cm in diameter, with a thick base, thin wall, and weighs about 10-15 grams.

When is the bird's nest picked?

The harvest season of bird's nest is generally from February to October every year.

The bird's nest harvested from February to April, because there are many Rain Water, suitable for insect reproduction, swiftlets have plenty of food and saliva secretion, so the birds have complete calves, good glossiness and less hair, which we often call "first-stage swallows".

The bird's nest harvested from May to October is called "second-stage swallow" and "third-stage swallow". At this time, it is the hair changing period of swiftlets, so the nest is relatively loose, the shape of marigold is not as good as that of the first stage, and there are more fluff impurities.

Species of bird's nest

Guanyan / Baiyan: the nests built by the older golden swallow are made entirely by the gradual condensation of a large amount of mucus secreted from their throats. The texture is pure. This kind of bird's nest is of the best quality and is the top grade of the bird's nest. In the feudal imperial era, it was often selected as a tribute, so it was named "Guanyan", that is, "Baiyan".

Mao Yan: a nest made by young swifts. due to lack of experience in building nests, they build rough nests and contain more impurities and feathers. The raw material of bird's nest collected at this time is called "Mao Yan".

Blood swallow / red swallow: another kind of bird's nest is oozed by the red liquid from the attached red rock wall, and the part near the rock wall of the bird's nest gradually turns red, also known as "blood swallow" or "red swallow", which contains a number of minerals, good nutrition and low yield. it is regarded as a treasure in the bird's nest.

How to stew bird's nest

1. Practice:

1. Soak the bird's nest with clean water, change the water 1-2 times during the period, and remove the cleaning impurities and fine hair after soaking.

2. Put the soaked bird's nest into the stew and cover with proper amount of hot boiling water, then put the stew cup into the pot, pour in the hot water, reach the water level to half the height of the stew cup, and then simmer for 30 minutes.

3. After the bird's nest is stewed and cooled, it can be sealed with plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator and can be stored for a week.

Ice syrup production: put the rock sugar into the pot, add the right amount of hot boiling water, stir from time to time, simmer until all the rock sugar dissolves and wait for cooling, pour into the bottle and close the lid, put in the refrigerator.

2. How to eat:

When eating, add ice syrup to the stewed bird's nest according to your taste. People who feel the symptoms of dryness and heat are more suitable for cold food. People who usually feel cold are suitable for hot food. In order to match the amount of active protein absorbed by the human body, it is necessary to persevere in eating bird's nests. Dietitians suggest that you eat one or two bowls a week. Eat one or two tablespoons a day. Eat on an empty stomach.

Third, efficacy:

"Materia Medica Zaixin" says that bird's nest can "greatly replenish energy". The nutrients it has can be easily absorbed by the human body, which can promote metabolism and enhance the function of the body.

As a tonic, bird's nest ranks first among ginseng, shark's fin and abalone, and it is also the top choice among health treasures in the world, so bird's nest is the most ideal choice among all tonics.

4. Tips:

Never boil the bird's nest directly in the pot, it will turn into nothing. Note that you must use a clean spoon every time you eat bird's nest and ice syrup. If you want hot food, you should stew the bird's nest before adding rock sugar. Do not use microwave heating, so as not to damage nutrients.

The efficacy and function of bird's nest

1000 grams of dry bird's nest contains: protein 499g, calcium 429mg, carbohydrate 306g, phosphorus 30mg, water 104g, iron 49mg and other nutrients.

The main functions of the nutrients are as follows:

The bioactive molecules with unique protein content in bird's nest are helpful to the growth, development and recovery of human tissue.

Carbohydrates are the main source of calories in the body, which complement each other with protein, which can not only provide calories, but also promote fat metabolism.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) in bird's nest and water-soluble substance in bird's nest can directly stimulate cell division, regeneration and tissue reconstruction, so that bird's nest plays an important role in nourishing and restoring the human body.

Calcium can enhance the clotting ability of blood when the skin is damaged, and also help the body absorb vitamin B12.

Bird's nest is rich in minerals, active proteins, collagen and other nutrients, in which epidermal growth factor and water extract can strongly stimulate cell regeneration, division and tissue reconstruction.

Bird's nest contains a very important polypeptide-epidermal growth factor (EGF), known as "beauty gene". It can stimulate the division and proliferation of many kinds of cells, promote the exquisite and aging of human skin, start the cells of aging skin, and make the skin smooth and elastic.

How to identify bird's nest

The distinction between high and low and good or bad bird's nest lies in six indicators: place of origin, hair, integrity, cleanliness quality, taste, moisture content.

1. Place of origin

Bird's nests in Indonesia account for 80% of the world's total bird's nest production, 13% in Malaysia, 5% in Thailand and 2% in Vietnam. There are three places producing bird's nests in China: Yanyan, Huaiji County, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, Yanzi Cave, Jianshui County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and Dazhou Island, Hainan (protected by closed islands). Due to its proximity to the Tropic of Cancer, bird's nest mining has a strong seasonality, and the total output is less than 1/10000 of the global bird's nest output.

2. Hair

"hair" is calculated according to weight, the difference in weight between bird's nest and dry body after soaking, the greater the multiple, that is, the better the "hair", the general high-quality bird's nest has 6 to 8 times the "hair" (if it is naturally dry at room temperature and humidity, the "hair" of the bird's nest is more than 12 times, and the hair is more than 12 times the best).

3. Degree of integrity

In addition to the clean hair, the picked bird's nest should not only keep the bird's nest clean, but also maintain the integrity of the bird's nest, which also requires certain technology. High-quality special-class swallow only selects the first-born swallow, complete and full, dense texture, crystal clear color, is the ultimate enjoyment of the art of high-quality life.

4. Cleaning quality

If there is no carefully cleaned bird's nest, there are swallow feathers, eggshells, beetles and other impurities, whether swallows, strips, nets, horns, broken birds and so on. Therefore, a natural and clean bird's nest is also one of the indicators of a good bird's nest.

5. Taste

The taste of high-quality bird's nest is delicate and smooth. If the water in stewed bird's nest is sticky, it is often gummed or thickened. In addition, bird's nests of different grades have different tastes: special-grade bird's nest Q is smooth and extremely enjoyable; the bird's net is the "Anyan" part of the bird's nest and is the slender mesh that supports eggs and Xiaoyan. It tastes delicate and lubricated and is easier to digest and absorb.

The bird's horn is used by swiftlets to fix the two ends of the bird's nest. It is the "load-bearing beam" of the bird's nest. It is thick, refreshing and chewy, and it takes a long time to stew. It is a concentrated part of the nutrition of the bird's nest.

6. Moisture content

There are many bird's nests with high moisture content in the market. this kind of bird's nest is extremely cheap and mixed with fish and dragons. the moisture content of real bird's nest can reach 40-60%, and it will still deteriorate even if it is stored in a wooden box or moisture-proof box. High-quality bird's nest will not become moldy even if it is not stored in a wooden box.

Identification of problematic bird's nests

1. Identification method of bleached bird's nest

Soak the bleached bird's nest in water and take it out. After about half a minute, rub it with your thumb and forefinger several times. The fingers will stick to the stench of chemicals, and the bleached bird's nest will not rise much after stewing, easy to remove water, and no natural egg white smell.

2. Identification method of gummed bird's nest

Soak the bird's nest coated with glue in water and take it out. After about half a minute, rub it with your thumb and index finger several times. The fingers will feel sticky and sometimes smell chemical smell.

3. Identification method of dyed bird's nest.

The so-called dyed bird's nest is often dyed red or yellow by Baiyan at a low price and sold as a high-priced swallow or yellow swallow. This kind of false blood swallow and Huangyan are difficult to distinguish before wet water. But once soaked, it can be recognized, because the pigment dissolves in water, the clear water is immediately dyed red or yellow. And after stewing for an hour or two, the texture is as soft and rotten as a white swallow, red or yellow is ineffective in water. The real blood swallow and Huangyan, because they are natural colors, will not change color after soaking and stewing. At the same time, due to the rich nutrients and mineral content of the blood swallow, the texture of the real blood swallow is still refreshing after stewing for a long time.

4. Identification method of bird's nest

It is often seen in swallow cakes or swallow silk on the market. There is a mixture of real and fake, and there are also artificial bird's nests made of 100% seaweed by bleaching, drying and boiling, with a solid white color, less gloss, thick and hard quality and seaweed flavor. On the other hand, the natural bird's nest strips are transparent and slightly yellow in color, shiny and without peculiar smell.

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