What are the different types of bird's nests available in the market? 

Raw Bird's Nest

My favourite memory of bird's nests was my mother picking the impurities from bird's nests carefully using a tweezer, a symbol of her love. Raw bird's nests are usually sold as 燕盏 (yan zhan) , the most prized and highest quality bird's nest. There are usually impurities in the bird's nests, which requires soaking the nest in water and picking the impurities out one by one, before double boiling the bird's nests. This makes the process tedious and time consuming. When purchasing raw bird's nests, it is important to understand how to differentiate the quality, as many direct-to-consumer raw bird's nests has bleach and preservatives in them. To find out more in detail about different kind of raw bird's nests, read here. 

Instant Bird's Nest

Instant bird's nests has been around for many years, with many TCM-focused brands mass producing and selling them. These bird's nests goes through high temperature processing to kill bacteria, which also destroys the nutrient structure of bird's nests. Preservatives are usually added in order to prolong the shelf-life of the bird's nests, and most of these bird's nests are therefore not fresh. The high concentration of sugar also prolongs its shelf-life. Fillers are also commonly added to reduce cost, such as white fungus. The quality of bird's nests is low as only 燕碎 (yan sui) is used to keep costs low. 

Powder Bird's Nest

Powder bird's nests started appearing in the market due to the demand for a quick solution. Powder bird's nests are usually made from low quality bird's nests with 燕碎 (yan sui). The nutrient structure of bird's nests are also destroyed because of the way it is processed. The texture and mouthfeel of bird's nests is also lost, which is an important experience in having bird's nests. 

Freshly Cooked Bird's Nest

The category of freshly cooked bird's nests is aimed at improving the quality of instant bird's nests. However, the quality in the market ranges vastly, in terms of quality of bird's nests used to the ingredients. Some brands in the market still uses fillers such as white fungus in order to bring the cost down. Most brands in the market uses 燕碎 (yan sui) to keep cost low as well, which is very evident from the bits and pieces of bird's nests in the bottle compared to long, thick strands you get when you cook your own bird's nests. Most brands also use sugar in order to preserve the shelf life and improve its taste. 

At LENE, we are committed to only bringing you the highest quality bird's nests. We use only 燕盏 (yan zhan), whole bird's nests, as evident from our long, thick strands absent from other brands in the market. We also use no sugar in our bird's nests, with our subtle sweetness from the healthier 罗汉果 (monk fruit).

TLDR: 

 Now that you can make an informed decision when choosing your bird's nests, do you know the best way to consume bird's nests, or what not to take with bird's nests?