3000 dollars per kilogram: why the inhabitants of the East so highly appreciate the nests of salangan

Surely many have heard that in Chinese cuisine there is an unusual dish - soup, which is prepared from bird nests. This tradition is more than 1000 years old, and the price of high-quality nests can reach $ 2,000 per kilogram and even higher. Indonesia alone supplies the world market with up to 300 tons of nests annually. Let's take a closer look at these interesting birds and find out why Southeast Asian people appreciate the nest dish so much.

Birds whose nests are used to make national dishes are called salangans and belong to the swifts family. Salangans live in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, the Philippines and nearby islands. For nesting, they choose steep cliffs or gloomy caves.

Nests, unlike most birds, build salangans with their own saliva. A pair of salivary glands is located under the tongue in birds, from which a sticky substance is secreted. There are two main types of salangans, whose nests are in demand among the local population. These are gray salangans, which are built only from saliva, and large salangans, whose nests are heterogeneous and, as a rule, contain feathers. Salangans build their nests in the spring, from February to May, and it is during this period of the year that the most saliva is released from them. The process itself takes from 4 to 6 weeks. Interestingly, salangans build nests at night, as they are busy searching for food during the day.

Today, like hundreds of years ago, locals are collecting salangan nests. This is very difficult and dangerous work: not everyone can climb the bamboo poles and ropes for tens of meters under the cave arches in complete darkness. But the nests of salangans are very highly valued, so in the poor rural areas there are always daredevils willing to risk their lives.

It is interesting that nest collectors work actively in the spring season. According to local residents, they cut salangan nests three times. After each loss, the birds restore the nest. It is noteworthy that the nest of gray salangans, which was built the very first of the season, is considered the most valuable: it consists of pure saliva. The second and third nests are not of such good quality, foreign impurities can be found there. These nests are also collected, but they are valued less and are not suitable for making soup, they are mainly used to produce gelatin. It is noteworthy that local residents take away nests from the salangan, thereby forcing them to rebuild their homes. The conscientious collectors do not touch the last nest, thereby allowing the birds to breed and provide themselves with work for the next year. But there are also cases of predatory attitude towards birds, which causes concern of scientists and the public.

But what is so useful in these nests that their price in the market reaches $ 3,000 per kilogram, and a portion of soup of them costs about $ 50 in a Hong Kong restaurant?

First of all, it is worth mentioning that this dish is considered a delicacy and sacred food, therefore it is revered among wealthy citizens. In addition, nests have a number of valuable properties. Studies show that salangan nests are a product consisting of approximately 60% protein and 30% carbohydrate. It contains several essential amino acids, as well as trace elements - magnesium and calcium. Nest collectors often eat them raw, right during the day. They claim that nests make them strong and resilient.

About 300 tons of this delicious product are delivered to the world market annually. The main supplier of bird nests is Indonesia, which produces 250-300 tons annually. In second place is Malaysia, supplying about 25 tons of nests.

The geography of the main consumers of salangan nests is also interesting. More than half, or more precisely, 60% of the nests leave for Hong Kong. But the second place is firmly held by North America. Do not be surprised, Americans are not fans of bird nest soup. The fact is that in the United States there is a large Chinese diaspora, the number of which is more than 3 million people. Chinese emigrants and their descendants are sensitive to their national dishes, so in the United States they consume about 30 tons of nests annually.

It is noteworthy that recently, nests are obtained not only in the traditional way, but also by breeding salangans on special farms. A similar business is very popular with Malaysia.