Prepared Foods: Bird Saliva Soup Soup

It's expensive, it's gelatinous, it's made from swiftlet spit.

Swiftlets in Southeast Asian caves have an unusual method of building their nests: spitting. The birds’ saliva sticks to cave walls, then hardens into firm, white cups that house their eggs. After the birds migrate, brave harvesters scale rickety bamboo ladders and peel away the nests. They will be made into a very unique, very expensive soup.

Why is Bird Saliva Soup soup expensive?

Peddlers justify the hefty price tag, which can range from $40 per bowl to thousands of dollars per pound, by citing the small yield and dangerous harvesting process. (Many gatherers fall to their deaths—not that the money is going directly to them.)
Despite the decadence of its expense, the nest itself has a bland flavor. This is why chefs clean the dried saliva in water and season it with chicken broth, ginger, and Yunnan ham. A dessert version coats the noodles in rock sugar for a more syrupy effect. After simmering with the other ingredients, the nest develops a uniquely gelatinous texture that attracts many fans in China and Hong Kong.
Chinese traditional medicine practitioners believe the dish relieves digestive problems, clears the complexion, and boosts the libido. Critics, however, note that the soup lacks sufficient nutritional value to justify its price tag. A 1998 study, for example, found that a single egg had the same amount of protein as 26 bottles of the soup.

Prepared Foods: Bird Saliva Soup Soup

Conservationists have also noted that over-harvesting disrupts breeding and reduces swiftlet populations. Due to growing demand, poachers often steal nests from protected areas or gather them before the birds’ migration season, while the eggs are still inside. The competitive industry has also sparked violence: A 2000 exposé in the SF Gate described government-licensed harvesters employing private armies to guard caves and shoot at both poachers and “unauthorized” passersby such as fishermen and tourists.
For a safer, more sustainable method of collecting nests, countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia have turned to swiftlet farming. Swiftlet houses, looming structures that play special sounds to lure the birds inside, are becoming big business. In 2013, there were 60,000 such houses in Malaysia.
Researchers don’t know yet if the farms are having a positive effect on swiftlet populations. But they’re certainly more ethical than poaching from a protected cave in a national park. Knowing that your Bird Saliva Soup soup came from a farmer instead of a poacher might make the viscous strands taste a little sweeter.

Need to Know

Bird Saliva Soup soup and the dried nests themselves are available in select restaurants and markets in China and Hong Kong. They're also available in various Chinatowns throughout the United States. Beware: Some vendors sell fake birds' nests, made from plant extracts.

Why Does My Family Deserve Only The Best Natural Food?

Bird Saliva Soup is rich in protein which provides the nutrients for our essential amino acids, enhancing the reproduction, growth, and recovery of human tissue. It is worth noting that the nutrients which do this are quite rare and not organically made in the human body.

Bird Saliva Soups are rich in amino acids.

Amino acids, being the second largest component in our bodies, are mainly responsible for 3 things: (1) maintaining our bodily functions, (2) muscles and tissues repair and, (3) metabolism. Essential amino acids cannot be created by our bodies and are required to be taken in as food, and replenished on a daily basis.

Studies show that long term consumption of Bird Saliva Soup, which is a super food rich in amino acids, have the following health benefits:

• improve blood pressure (for my mom)
• prevent tumors (for my grandma)
• reduce chemotherapy side effects (for my grandma)
• aid in muscle and tissue repair in the healing and recovering process (for my sister in law after giving birth)
• improve metabolism (for my dad)
• improve human immunity (for my toddler son)
• nourishes the lungs (for my grandpa)
• stops colds as it clears up the chest (for my brother)
• increasing energy (for me)
• postpone aging and prolong life (for all of us).

For Good Health

The medicinal benefits of Bird Saliva Soup have been carefully documented since it became a delicacy and are widely recognised as one of the four great tonic foods since the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Bird Saliva Soup is rich in protein which provides the nutrients for our essential amino acids, enhancing the reproduction, growth, and recovery of human tissue. It is worth noting that the nutrients which do this are quite rare and not organically made in the human body.
Traditional Chinese medical doctors praise Bird Saliva Soup with the effects of improving human immunity, increasing energy, and curing diseases. Modern medical science has discovered that Bird Saliva Soup may improve human immunity, postpone aging, and prolong life. Studies also show that Bird Saliva Soup can improve blood pressure, prevent tumors, reduce chemotherapy side effects and is especially beneficial for maternal health. On the whole, Bird Saliva Soup is effective in both health care and medical treatment.

For Beauty and Skin Care

As a skin care ingredient, its high concentrations of antioxidants, water-soluble glycoprotein, Epidermal Growth Factors, and amino acids are said to fight signs of aging by promoting cell growth and tissue repair.
Because Bird Saliva Soup is known for being full of amino acids for growth of skin cells, some believe that it promises regeneration, rejuvenation and repair.This means smaller pores, firmer skin, less lines and wrinkles. It also improves metabolism, so frequent consumption results in young, radiant and fairer skin.