Another little-known way to classify bird's nest is by the time factor. The article below will help you understand better the definition of young and mature bird's nest, and learn tips for telling these two types apart accurately.
What is young bird's nest?
Young bird's nest is a nest that the swiftlet has built halfway and then abandoned. Or it is a nest harvested when the swiftlet has just built it and has not yet laid or incubated eggs.
Young bird's nest is harvested before the swiftlets have had young, so it is very thin and clean, with no droppings or dirt stuck to it. Young nest strands are usually fine and have a characteristic scent. Therefore, young bird's nest is an extremely suitable food for the still-delicate digestive system of children. When prepared, young bird's nest softens very quickly and has a characteristic scent.
Harvesting young bird's nest is also not the crime many people think. When the breeding season comes and a swiftlet has no nest, it will lay its eggs in another bird's nest. That is why many swiftlet nests contain 3 to 4 eggs rather than the usual 1 or 2.
Young bird's nest is clean and rich in nutrition, but the quantity obtained is very small. Therefore, young bird's nest costs more than mature bird's nest. Telling young from mature bird's nest is also quite difficult, since bird's nest products have almost always gone through cleaning and pre-processing before reaching consumers.
Suitable users of young bird's nest are small children, malnourished children and children with weak resistance.
What is mature bird's nest?
In contrast to young bird's nest, mature bird's nest has existed for longer; it is left behind by the swiftlets after the chicks have grown enough and flown away. Only then do the swiftlet-house workers harvest these nests; otherwise the parent birds would build a new nest on top of the old one for the next breeding.
Mature bird's nest is harvested after the breeding season, so the strands are usually harder, thicker and more ivory-coloured than young bird's nest. During preparation, mature bird's nest takes longer to cook and the strands are chewier, so it is suitable for nourishing adults. Mature bird's nest is generally better suited to adults than to small children.
Young bird's nest and mature bird's nest – which should you choose?
The advantages of young bird's nest are thin strands that soften quickly when cooked, and cleanliness. Mature bird's nest has large, thick strands that take longer to soften, and contains more impurities and bird droppings. But the drawback of young bird's nest is that its price is quite high compared with mature bird's nest.
So young and mature bird's nest each have their own advantages. Which type to choose depends on your preferences and purpose of use.
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