Have you ever seen swiflets? Those lovely little black birds, you know the ones that are among the fastest flyers known to mankind? Swifts belong to the family Apodidae in the order Apodiformes but they are often mistaken for the swallows which they closely resemble. (Of course an expert bird watcher would never make that mistake.)There are around thirty species of swifts and they are mostly confined to southern Asia, south Pacific islands, and northeastern Australia, all within the tropical and subtropical regions.
Now when you hear swift, two things ought to come to mind, first – the word fast and the second – birds nest (soup).
I’ve already mentioned about the first so now I’ll just move on to the second, birds nest soup.
(Now I’m breaking this topic up into 4 articles because there is much to cover and lots for you to know.)
You ask: What exactly is bird’s nest soup?
As silly as it sounds, bird’s nest soup is literally what it reads – a soup made of birds nest. However it isn’t just any birds nest, but instead it is the nests of edible-nest swiftlets [(Aerodramus fuciphagus (formerly Collocalia fuciphaga) or Aerodramus maximus (formerly Collocalia maxima)] and it can be made to be savory or sweet. This soup is not a cream soup but a clear one and sometimes it’s made into a dessert.
Now as you know, the birds are mainly populated in SEA, so it comes as no surprise that bird’s nest soup has been an Asian culinary tradition for centuries.
You ask: Why would anyone want to eat twigs and other organic matters that make up a bird’s nest?
Edible-nest swiftlets nest aren’t like that of any other birds. It isn’t made out of twigs or grass or reed, instead it is made out of the little bird’s own gelatinous saliva! So basically when someone says he’s having bird’s nest soup, what’s he’s actually saying is he’s having swiflet saliva soup. Doesn’t that tickle your tastebuds!
Next up tomorrow: Facts about the Edible-nest Swiftlets’ Nest.
