About Bird’s Nest

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    We all knew about bird’s nest and and it’s nutritional values and worth as much as $2,000 a kilogram. But do you know who did bird’s nest come about? No, we didn’t go to limestone caves and peek behind the scenes but we went to a shop lot that has been turned into “breeding grounds” for swiftlets.
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    KampungBoy visited one of the famous swiflet breeder in Kuala Terengganu and the business is run by his mate, Tor. The shop lot is transformed to replicate the birds’ natural habitat. The temperature is kept at 26 to 28 degrees Celsius and the level of dampness must also be suitable. They even spray a potion made of  of water, ammonia, fish oil and some other herbs to entice the birds.


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    The entrance of “House of Nest”
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    Tor (the Boss) also plays some CD on chirping sound and smear the walls in droppings to replicate the smell of a cave. This is a CCTV footage that shows the environment in the breeding ground.
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    Plastic moulds were placed along the ceiling to hold the shape of the swiftlet’s saliva. However, most swiftlets would prefer to build their nest along the “L” shape pillar. The bird’s nest will be graded lower because of the smaller yield. You will find out why, just read on.
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    R: A good grade A nest should be as big as three fingers, white in colour, have very few feathers stuck in it, and have a saucer-like shape.

    L: Bird’s nests built along the corners and crevices is thinner because less saliva is needed to produce a saucer-like shape.
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    Semi finished products
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    Guess which one has a better grade? Left or Right?
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    To clean the nest, water is sprayed on it and a sharp, tweezer-like instrument is used to carefully remove the feathers one by one.
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    The aluminum sieve is used to hold the shape of the bird’s nest during the process of cleaning and plucking.
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    The cleaned bird’s nests were dried in oven using “Freeze Drying” method to eliminate excess moisure.
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    bird nest

    Cleaned bird’s nest were categorized according to its grade. The finished products have a faint scent of  egg and the scent comes from soluble protein. Bird’s nest also have a high nutritional and therapeutic value to human body but it’s not something that I can afford to consume. However, it’s good to know more about bird’s nest right?

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