Here’s why edible nests made of bird spit are a delicacy in China

When boiled in water, the nests dissolve into a gelatinous gloop which is then made into desserts or drunk as a soup or a tonic that is said to prolong life and improve strength.

The cries of amorous Swallow Bird Nests echo around the dark room, an unlikely gold mine for traders in southern Myanmar who are cashing in on rising demand for the edible nests from China’s growing middle class.
Dozens of buildings dedicated to the tiny birds have sprung up around Bokpyin in recent years, their grey concrete structures towering over the humbler wooden and brick homes of the town’s human inhabitants.
Every morning and evening the air is filled with high-pitched twitterings blasted from loudspeakers that draw thousands of the swallow-like birds home to roost.
Swallow Bird Nests have become one of the main industries in the town, traditionally known for producing the chewable stimulant betel nut as well as rubber and palm oil.
Traders can charge around $2,000 a viss (equivalent to 1.63 kilogrammes) for the tiny nests – more than the average person in Myanmar earns in a year.
“We started making man-made Swallow Bird Nest (houses) 10 years ago,” said Paing Set Aung, who owns one of the buildings where hundreds of Swallow Bird Nests make their homes in the rafters.
“Initially there was a house where the birds came to roost by themselves. After that, people started to construct man-made bird houses.”
Most of the tiny white nests, which are made from solidified bird spit, are sold to neighbouring China. Long considered the reserve of the country’s wealthy elite, who ate them during lavish banquets, they are in increasing demand from middle-class consumers.
Today the global Swallow Bird Nest industry is estimated to be worth $5 billion, most of it produced in Southeast Asia.
Myanmar’s exports have surged since 2011 – the year the former junta handed over power to a quasi-civilian government. “Swallow Bird Nest are one of the main businesses in Bokpyin,” said local Lin Aung, who built his first house five years ago and is now on his third. “China is the top buyer of Swallow Bird Nest here.”

Caviar of the East

Once across the border, the nests are transformed into one of the most expensive foods in the world. When boiled in water they dissolve into a gelatinous gloop which is then made into desserts or drunk as a soup or a tonic that is said to prolong life and improve strength.

Here’s why edible nests made of bird spit are a delicacy in China

There is little peer-reviewed scientific data showing that nests have proven medicinal properties. Nutritional studies have shown the saliva to be mainly made up of protein, followed by carbohydrates.
In Shanghai restaurants sell the “the caviar of the East,” as it is known, for hundreds of dollars a bowl.
Many of them cater specifically to women, who believe the nests can help smooth the complexion and make them look younger. The tonic is also said to help during pregnancy – one of Shanghai’s high-end spas solely for mothers-to-be even has its own restaurant and sells gift bags for as much as $566.
Shoppers can also order the products online, including candied Swallow Bird Nests from Myanmar to be eaten as sweets.
“In China, the Swallow Bird Nest has been a really famous and much-loved traditional tonic since ancient times,” Zhang Yi told AFP inside her NestCha restaurant. “It is mild and a little sweet. It is good for women, the elderly, children and men.”

Growing industry

These luxury products are a far cry from the nests’ humble beginnings on the islands of Myanmar’s southern archipelago. To begin with they were harvested on the region’s many islands by daring climbers who risked life and limb scaling treacherous cliffs without any safety equipment.
For years the industry was dominated by the Union of Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), a sprawling conglomerate controlled by the military elites that ran Myanmar for half a century.
But, as in much of Southeast Asia, production has increasingly moved into urban centres. Locals in the southern city of Myeik started building houses to attract the birds decades ago, then later production spread to Bokpyin and nearby Kawthaung.
There are now more than 130 houses devoted to the Swallow Bird Nests dotted around the region, according to the state’s media. Competition for space in Bokpyin between Swallow Bird Nest producers and tourism developers has seen land prices surge to as high as $75,000 a plot in downtown – on a par with parts of the commercial capital Yangon.
Nests are normally harvested three or four times a year, but traders can collect them often as once a month if they are in need of cash. Producer Aung Kyaw Moe said that, because the Swallow Bird Nest populations naturally increase as the birds become accustomed to their homes, the industry will only grow in the coming years.
“They are like humans because they come and live here after they get to know the place,” he told AFP, standing next to his tall wooden bird-house in Myeik.

The great benefit of Swallow Bird Nest for each part of the body

It is believed that the effect of Swallow Bird Nest is very good for health, so it was soon used by the aristocracy as a nutritional and health treatment. Today we learn about the benefits of Swallow Bird Nest for each part of the body like the brain, lungs, stomach …

1. The benefits of the Swallow Bird Nest for parts of the body

Lung: is one of the organs to receive the effect of large Swallow Bird Nest such as help lung, sputum, reduce lung injury effectively. Supports treatment of some diseases such as asthma, chronic cough, blood cough, bronchitis. Therefore, this product is perfectly suitable for subjects such as people who regularly cough, who have asthma, flu, or smoke or often have to say much.
Stomach: The stomach is also a part of getting the use of the nest very well. Salanganes nests help protect and improve gastric function, limitation of abdominal symptoms, indigestion, vomiting … So people with weak stomach often appear symptoms should use Swallow Bird Nest.
Renal: The effect of Swallow Bird Nest on the kidneys is not small. If you use regular Swallow Bird Nest, it will help to improve kidney function effectively, reduce nighttime urination more frequently, support for kidney failure, and chronic kidney failure.
Brain: This is a very good use for brain children are in development. Swallow Bird Nest contains a very high nutrient content, 18 kinds of amino acids and 31 trace elements are essential for brain development, help improve memory, reduce stress, fatigue, dizziness. , headache. This is why children or overworked people are very well suited to use this food.
Liver: Not only that, liver is also one of the parts that Swallow Bird Nest bring good use, eat Swallow Bird Nest will help heat, detoxify liver effectively, supporting the treatment of some diseases such as liver cancer , liver failure is effective. Therefore, people who are suffering from liver problems should regularly use Swallow Bird Nest.

2. The use of swallow’s nests bring the best effect

The benefits of Swallow Bird Nest for health are great. However, if you do not use it properly then it is difficult to get the maximum benefit. When using swallow’s nests you should use in the morning when hungry or before bed.
Should use a small amount of regularity each day in the first month and the second month can be used to interrupt the day. Absolutely not to take too much time will not only do not work well that can affect health.
When processing Swallow Bird Nest should be used porcelain pot, glass and cooking time should not cook too long will lose nutrients in the nest.
That is all the effects of Swallow Bird Nest for some parts of the body. Hope that through this article you can understand more about the wonderful use of Swallow Bird Nest for human health