This is not fiction or a joke: the Chinese make soup from swallows’ nests. Very expensive and, they say, healthy and tasty.
Swallow's nest soup is a traditional Chinese food, and nowadays this soup is enjoyed by very wealthy Chinese gourmets.
It should be noted right away that swallows have absolutely nothing to do with this - the edible nests belong to the rock swift. It is the swifts that nest in caves, where they surprisingly deftly climb the walls, clinging with their tenacious claws, similar to a fan-shaped rake.
Swallow's nest soup is food for the elite, imperial, royal. There are many beautiful legends about this extraordinary dish. One of them says that many, many centuries ago, an envoy of the Chinese emperor was treated to a dish made from “swallow’s nests” on the Indochina Peninsula, which seemed so unusual and delicious to him that he, taking several nests with him to his homeland, personally prepared soup from them for his lord. The emperor scooped up the hot broth with a spoon, blew, carefully tasted it and, closing his eyes with pleasure, asked for more.
Be that as it may, this delicacy began to be consumed in China one and a half thousand years ago, according to the research of the famous expert on the history of “swallow’s nests”, Chinese professor Yun Chen Kong.
However, to prepare such an original soup, you must first of all get a nest.
It should be noted that the swallows’ own nests in the coastal caves of China were quickly depleted and destroyed, which is confirmed by archaeological excavations.
That is why the delicacy began to be imported back in 700 BC. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the eunuch Chen Huo repeatedly led expeditions of the imperial fleet to Southeast Asia. Among other assignments, he was charged with delivering local delicacies to the court, including “swallow’s nests.”
Nowadays, precious nests are mined in the dark caves of Thailand by fearless and risky people who have been engaged in this life-threatening trade from generation to generation.
We can say that swallow nest hunters are real climbers.
Before the start of the season, nest hunters bring to the islands not only food supplies, but also ropes and hooks. We can say that swallow nest hunters are real climbers. The fact is that some of the caves resemble jugs, into which you can only climb through the neck. A platform is built at the edges of such a neck, and ropes are fixed on it, along which hunters have to descend tens of meters, twisting and swinging, in order to get closer to the walls of the cave. The vaults of the cave went into darkness, and giant bamboo poles stretched there, tied to each other and entwined with vines, reminiscent of tall scaffolding.
In order not to provoke the wrath of the gods, hunters never tear off nests with their hands. Perhaps the swallows' nests themselves are the work of deities who can punish people for destroying nests, nest hunters say.
The nests obtained are different. For the first time, swifts make nests from pure saliva - a sticky substance produced by two glands under the tongue. Such nests are white, and they are very valuable among resellers. The second time, after cutting, the nests turn out dark, since twigs, seaweed and even feathers are used for “construction”. Their cost is much lower. They collect more nests a third time, allowing the chicks to grow up. Such nests are painted red, which is often mistaken for the blood of birds, although this is most likely due to impurities of iron oxides.
Swallow's nests are highly valued; chefs of expensive restaurants buy them. They can pay a thousand or more dollars for a kilogram of nests. The price of a nest fluctuates depending on the “harvest”: during droughts, fewer swifts arrive, therefore, the price of nests increases. It should be said that only fresh nests are valued.
The nests, gourmets say, contain a large amount of proteins and substances that help strengthen the immune system. Broth from the “swallow’s nest” is useful for sick people and athletes, restores strength no worse than ginseng or rhinoceros horn, and is said to even help with AIDS.
This exotic delicacy, according to gourmets, tastes like beluga caviar.
The mined “white gold” is transported to Hong Kong, China, the USA - wherever the Chinese live...
Did you know that swallow saliva has healing properties? Dietary supplements, various essences and even national dishes are made on its basis. The ingredient is especially popular in the cuisine of Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam.
This extract is called the fountain of youth. In Chinese folk medicine, it is recognized as the best anti-aging cosmetic. Healers believe that the substance can stimulate cell growth and regeneration, is useful for pregnant women and for healing wounds.
A miracle dish from Chinese chefs
Edible swallow nest
What is
Wealthy gourmets in China enjoy swallow's nest soup. To be precise, they eat the houses of swifts, which nest in caves near the water.
The dish belongs to the category of seafood, along with sea cucumber, jellyfish, scallop and cuttlefish. As building material, birds use the young of long, thin, like a weeping willow branch, fish such as saury, whose bones have not yet formed. Also used are seaweed, edible seaweed, and garlands of eggs. All this is held together with saliva and dried by the scorching sun and wind to the state of stone. The sticky secretion is produced by two glands under the tongue of birds.
History of appearance
If you believe the legend, the dish appeared due to chance. During the war with Genghis Khan (early 13th century), a detachment of the Chinese imperial army found itself cut off from the main forces on a lonely rocky island. There was no edible food, and the warriors began to lose strength. However, they noticed that swiftlets make homes from dry, boneless saury fry and aquatic vegetation. So you can eat it! Thanks to this discovery, the unit held out until help arrived and survived.
According to another version, the history of the delicacy goes deeper, starting in the 7th-9th centuries, during the reign of the Tang dynasty. The emperor's envoy tasted this soup on the Indochina Peninsula and was amazed by its exquisite taste. Upon returning to his homeland, he took several nests with him and presented food as a gift to the ruler.
Cooking method
« bird home"is an ideal semi-finished product that does not deteriorate over the years. You can taste it in restaurants in Hong Kong, China, India, Singapore and some other Asian countries. You will also find the dish in the United States, in areas where people from the Middle Kingdom live.
To prepare an exotic soup you also need a skilled cook. First, the nest is filled with boiling water and left for 5-6 hours. The cooled water is periodically drained and replaced with new water. In this case, the ingredient swells and increases in size by 7-10 times. To soften the structure, add a solution of baking soda.
Then use tweezers to remove stuck feathers, fluff, droppings and dirt. For disinfection, the product is doused with barium oxide.
The soaked “swallow’s nest” is poured with chicken broth and cooked over high heat for a quarter of an hour. Then add finely chopped chicken meat, boiled ham, and salt into the saucepan and keep on the stove for another 30 minutes. The finished delicacy is poured into bowls and sprinkled with herbs to taste. It looks like viscous mucus and has a consistency similar to jelly.
Video: How swallows get saliva
How to get “swallow saliva”
Prices for delicious swift nests reach $2000-2300 per kilogram. This is one of the most expensive products, comparable in cost to elite varieties of beluga caviar.
But getting a bird's house is not easy. This trade is carried out by fearless, risk-taking people - real rock climbers. The fact is that the caves are shaped like jugs, and you can only get into them through the “neck.” At the edges of the natural entrance, miners build a platform of bamboo stalks. Ropes and hooks are attached to it, and the hunters descend tens of meters, twisting and unwinding to get closer to the walls of the “vessel.”
The nesting grounds of swiftlets in China were quickly depleted, and the valuable dessert began to be imported. Today, about a million “swallows” hatch their chicks in Malaysia, on the island of Kalimantan. However, the world's leading seller is Indonesia. Every year the country supplies 250-300 tons of nests to the foreign market. If you consider that one copy weighs 10 grams, then you can imagine the monstrous scale on which the business is conducted.
In our technological age, swifts are bred like quails. Tall multi-story buildings are built for them, with narrow slits instead of windows. Under the arches of the recesses there are numerous concrete beams.
The birds happily make nests in secluded corners, from where farm workers periodically cut them off. They try to rent only those dwellings in which eggs have not yet been laid. Sometimes poor birds have to build a house up to three times a year.
Resellers value “fresh” samples the most. They are white, made of pure saliva. If the structure contains a lot of twigs, seaweed or feathers, then the cost of the product is lower.
Composition of the product
— 61-66.9% protein,
- 24.4-31.4% carbohydrates,
- up to 10% fat.
According to the same data, the product contains essential amino acids, magnesium, sodium and calcium. Iodine, phosphorus, iron and other trace elements are present in smaller quantities.
The calorie content of the food is not high. But hardly anyone cares about this, because “swallow soup” does not appear on the table every day.
Dietary supplements: artificial product substitutes
On the shelves of specialized Thai stores you will find dietary supplements “swallow saliva” from the Bird’s nest brand. The product is produced with various flavoring additives: honey, sugar, Korean ginseng, seasonings, etc. The substance in multi-colored jars is very tasty, with vitamin syrups or purees. Local residents give the extract to loved ones during the holidays to wish them health and longevity.
The price of such hoods is lower than that of natural nests. And there are plenty of useful properties:
- help with bronchial asthma and respiratory diseases;
- rejuvenate and nourish the skin, smooth out wrinkles;
- enhance male potency;
- stop pathological changes in the lungs;
- improve blood circulation, normalize blood pressure;
- stimulate the mental development of children and adolescents;
- increase concentration;
- boost immunity, speed up recovery after surgery;
- effective in the treatment of liver cirrhosis, hepatitis B, digestive system dysfunctions;
- stabilize heart rhythms;
- have an antitumor effect (prevention of cancer of the larynx, esophagus, intestines).
Scientists at the University of Hong Kong have concluded that swallow's nests provide positive results in the treatment of lung cancer and AIDS.
Collagen drinks are also produced based on the substance to moisturize the skin and give it elasticity.
If you happen to visit China, Thailand or Malaysia, be sure to try the soup made from the houses of baby salangans. Perhaps you too will appreciate the amazing taste of this dish. Don't forget to bring a couple of packages of magical dietary supplements for your relatives and friends.
The entrance to other caves is hidden by thick water and opens only at low tide. Photo Depositphotos/PhotoXPress.ru
This delicacy, familiar to many of those who have traveled to the countries of Southeast Asia, at least by hearsay, is considered one of the most exotic dishes. As rare and unique as, say, the fillet of a king cobra or the brains of a living monkey. We are talking about swallow's nest soup. True gourmets do not deny themselves the pleasure of tasting it at least once if they happen to be somewhere in Singapore, Bangkok or Saigon.
In expensive restaurants it is served at a price of a hundred dollars for a serving the size of a tea bowl. You can do it cheaper - at home. Packages or tins with the inscription “BirdNest” are sold in large quantities in markets and stores. But this, as they say, is not the same style. A real swallow's nest is the food of the gods. It's all about what you're served.
The lagoon shone dazzling white. On the sparkling surface, like jewelry inclusions, darkened lonely rocks and a small scattering of bamboo vessels, similar to coconut shells. The shore gradually moved away from us, parting, like a curtain, the picturesque panorama of Sam Bong Bay at the northern outskirts of Nha Trang.
Against the background of tousled palm trees, the white thread of the bridge over the Kai River stood out clearly. From here he seemed even more graceful than in the photographs in the advertising brochures. The curled caps of the Cham temples of PokhNogar became even closer to the clouds. Facing the sea, they serve as our navigator and altar at the same time.
Tung, the captain of our “Pearl,” looked at the shore and muttered something under his breath. Obviously he was praying. In the morning he went to the fortune teller who sat at the steps of PokhNogar and asked him to tell his fortune. The old soothsayer promised good luck and protection from the sea lord.
History is reflected in these waters. In past centuries, even before the era of great geographical discoveries, pirates ruled here. Ethnically, they are a diverse rabble. Fugitives from Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines were engaged in sea robbery and did not build nests anywhere. Actually, this is the South China Sea, about which there is a lot of talk and debate today in society, on newspaper pages and even in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
But we read more ancient sources - the notes of the British East India Company sub-receiver Thomas Bowir, who writes how local merchants carried printed silks, porcelain, tea, mercury, ginger in their holds from China...
From Siam - sandalwood, mahogany, ebony, betel, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, ivory, emeralds, Pailin sapphires...
From Batavia - pearls and silver jewelry, cinnabar... From Manila - incense, tobacco, silver, wax, sinew... From Vietnam - gold and iron, patterned silks and cotton, eagle wood and swallow's nests...
Since time immemorial in Vietnam, en sao soup has been the decoration of any royal table. At the royal feast of Emperor Ly Thanh Tong, a great lover of life and patron of the muses (he founded the Temple of Literature in Hanoi in 1070), poets competed, praising en sao as a divine drink.
According to the Chinese version, it was first prepared in the 13th century by the cooks of the young emperor from the Jin dynasty. This happened at the wrong moment - Genghis Khan’s troops were moving from the north to Beijing. The emperor's army was defeated, its remnants took refuge on a deserted island surrounded by rocks. Hungry soldiers began to look for food, but the island was covered only with stunted vegetation.
And then the emperor’s attention was attracted by colonies of swallows. Their nests covered all the stones from top to bottom. A skillful cook, by order of the ruler, prepared a rather tolerable dish, and everyone liked it - both the overlord and the army. The threat of famine was over.
Our “Pearl” was briskly moving on its tack. To the right, rocky islands stretched in a darkening chain. Tung, raising his hand, calmly said: “Here, you wanted en-sao. In the spring, clouds of swiftlets - small needle-tailed swifts, reminiscent of swallows with their dark plumage and wing geometry - flock here to nest. This is where the name of the islands came from – Lastochkiny.
Having short legs that are not adapted for life on the earth's surface, swiftlets spend most of their time in the air or in nests. But strong wings provide them with greater maneuverability and high speed in flight. Stone cliffs, rugged shores and labyrinthine fjords provide ideal nesting sites. Passing ships do not disturb the peace there, the road is closed to predators. Only noisy waves crash against the rocks and the salty wind blows around.
Huge colonies of swiftlets settle in stone grottoes and caves, which are not so easy to reach even for an experienced rock climber. The entrance to other caves is hidden by thick water and opens only at low tide. There are few such caves. One of them is Ho Cave near Da Nang, the other, the largest, is Chong Cave, five kilometers from Nha Trang.
We approached it. We made our way over the slippery stones to the very entrance. Birds flew overhead in excited flocks. There was such a hubbub that we couldn't hear each other. Inside the cave, I climbed onto a ledge and looked down. Snakes swam in the water below me - the eternal companions of swiftlets during the nesting period.
Swiftlets begin to make nests in the spring. They choose a secluded place and get to work. The first nest, mixed with clay and sand, where eggs have already been laid, is torn off the walls by hunters. Swallows, obeying the instinct of procreation, take up the latter. They are in a hurry to make a second clutch. But this time too, the miners of the most valuable product take the nest into their pouches. There are very few days left for the swiftlets to breed their offspring. And they get to work for the third time. This nest is very small, made only from saliva, without impurities, the main thing is to be in time.
Salangans create a home for little chicks with all their might, literally from their own flesh. The secretions of the sublingual salivary glands are the only building material. Day after day, they pull out threads of saliva from themselves, building up the semicircle of a new nest. The humid climate keeps the nest soft, preventing it from drying out within a week. The gelatinous mass with reddish and pink veins is the most valuable in taste, and therefore the most expensive and rare on the market. For one kilogram – a hundred million dong (about 4.5 thousand dollars).
Hunters build special bamboo forests on nearby rocks and climb the steep wall using climbing equipment. For hours, nest collectors hang on ropes at heights of up to hundreds of meters, risking their lives and literally playing with death.
The hottest time for harvesting does not last long - about seven days. During this time, with good weather and accompanying luck, it is possible to collect tens of kilograms of high-quality product. On shore, in specialized factories, it is sorted, packaged in containers and sent for export - to Hong Kong, the USA, Australia...
Compared to other countries in the region - Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, where they also engage in similar fishing, Vietnamese swallow's nests are considered the most delicious and nutritious. They say it all depends on the local climate and special natural conditions.
Nest hunters make their last call when the chicks have hatched and started to fly. Then typhoons come from the Philippines and sweep into the sea everything that remains on the rocks and inside the caves. Until next spring...
We were driven to Taman Negara Park by a businessman who was going to repair his car in the city of Kuatan.
He spoke with joy and delight about his business, and we asked him with such interest that he offered to stop by and see everything with our own eyes. We had some free time, so we gladly agreed.
His business is raising birds' nests. In Russia they are called " swallow's nests", but in reality the birds are called swiftlets- This is a species of swift that lives in southern Asia, they are quite small in size, slightly larger than an ordinary sparrow and look a little like swallows.
The nest breeding business is one of the most highly profitable areas in global agriculture. - one of those countries where swifts live in large numbers, which means there are all the conditions for running such a business.
Despite the fact that Malaysia supplies only 10% of the nests to the world market, it is the Malaysian ones that are considered the best in quality and are called here “white gold” - the cost is up to $3,000 per 1 kilogram, and they are incredibly popular in the Chinese market.
They consist practically of only saliva, without any impurities or plant inclusions. This is precisely why these birds are valued - their nests are a tasty delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The most popular dish is “swallow’s nest soup,” which is a gelatinous stew with a specific taste.
Of the more than 20 extant species of swiftlets, only a few produce nests that are edible. The bulk of nests sold in the world belong to two species: “light-nest” and “dark-nest” swiftlets. The first builds a cup-like nest, including layers of salivary secretions with a few feathers between them (it looks light); the nest of the second contains many feathers, held together by saliva, and therefore appears dark and has a fleecy structure.
The high price of the delicacy is explained by the high risk for hunters of this prey. In the wild, swiftlets nest in caves; the bird can navigate well in the dark and makes nests in hard-to-reach places, which is the main difficulty for hunters - you need to be a good climber.
Nests are collected 3-4 times a year.
First time they are cut in early spring, before the swifts lay their eggs. The first nests are pristine snow-white. Returning to the cave, the swifts look for their nests and, not finding them, begin to build new ones. They are in a hurry because the egg-laying season has arrived and there is nowhere to lay them.
Second nests- pink in color, there is an opinion that the birds are not able to produce enough saliva the second time and therefore it turns out with an admixture of blood, due to which the pink color is obtained - among gourmets they are valued higher than white ones.
The third time The resulting nests are red-brown. If you cut off absolutely all the nests, then in a few years there will be no swifts left in this area. Salangans never use the same nest twice, and for each new clutch of eggs they build new ones.
Work on building the nest lasts about a month. Due to a gastronomic addiction to the delicacy, a huge number of chicks die. It was the high cost of “raw materials” and the frantic demand in Chinese cuisine that led farmers in Southeast Asia to learn how to tame swifts.
Moreover, “swift” farms mainly appear outside the main place of consumption of nests – China. They are common in the Philippines and Vietnam. It turns out that under Mao Zedong, this bird and the soup from its nests were declared a “bourgeois excess,” and the swiftlet population was exterminated by 95% in the 1970s. Today, in southern China, the number of these swifts is only half of its previous level before extirpation.
The ability of swifts to navigate in the dark and live in caves was the main obstacle to the cultivation of nests until one Indonesian from the island of Java, in the 70s, went to Mecca for several months, and upon returning found that his empty home had been inhabited swifts.
For 3 years he researched how to attract birds to an artificial structure - he experimented with the size of the room, the material of the walls and ceiling, humidity, temperature and lighting. He was the first to record on tape the singing of birds, which attracted them to an artificial home. All his findings are still successfully used on many farms.
The farm we visited is located on the territory of a palm plantation, entry of outsiders is strictly prohibited - there is a barrier and a security post. The palm plantation is huge, they move around it in these jeeps
So we swapped the sports car for an SUV and drove off
All around are groves of mature palm trees, utility warehouses, as well as very young palm trees.
In the very depths of the plantation there is an unremarkable concrete structure, which serves as a haven for swiftlets
There are no windows in the room, complete darkness reigns and a constant temperature of 27-29 degrees is maintained with a humidity of 80-90%, using special devices
To attract birds, sound equipment with various music tracks is used. Some of them are designed to attract swifts into the house, while others are designed to create a “cozy atmosphere” inside
In addition, speakers are also placed at the far approaches to the house to hint to the birds in which direction they need to move
To maintain the required smell in the room, specially imported bird droppings are used - guano.
Swiftlets make their nests under the ceiling
On average, 1 kg of raw material is obtained from 110-120 raw nests. One such concrete building produces from 15 to 25 kg of nests over the course of a year. The wholesale price for them is about $1,200 dollars per 1 kilogram (and in Hong Kong they are sold from $2.5 thousand to $3 thousand, so resellers have a profit of 100% or more). And a farmer earns $18-30 thousand per year of breeding, which is very good, considering that the average income of farmers in other areas is $3-4 thousand per year.
The undeniable advantage of this industry is that, in addition to the start-up capital, labor and material costs are minimal: the birds feed on their own, there is almost no need for caring for them - only occasionally removing droppings, which can again be used as fertilizer in the fields. This industry is also good because it allows you to keep birds even in cities, and 20% of bird nests are “produced” in urban areas.
Interesting Facts:
- The total gross harvest of tasty “raw materials” is 300-350 tons per year;
- In general, experts estimate the global market for this “agricultural raw material” at 600-650 million dollars a year;
- Several hundred tons of “swallow’s nests” are consumed annually in the world, despite the fact that a dried nest weighs no more than 10 g.
- 50% of bird's nest consumption occurs in Hong Kong, 8% in China, 6% in Taiwan, 4% in Macau.
In China, you can try the soup in expensive restaurants specializing in Imperial cuisine, and in the south, in Guangdong province, where this culinary masterpiece was invented. In Hong Kong or Shanghai, a bowl of this soup costs from 30 to 100 dollars.
There is a beautiful legend about the origin of this dish.
In the 13th century, when the army of Genghis Khan attacked China, the emperor of the Jin dynasty suffered one defeat after another and was driven to a rocky island by his enemies. The emperor could not stand the shame, jumped from a cliff into the sea and crashed, and the remnants of the army survived by feeding on the nests of birds that settled on these rocks.
The soup is credited with extraordinary healing properties - returning youth, prolonging life, increasing male potency, curing asthma, and the glycoprotein found in the nests, soluble in water, stimulates cell division in the human immune system; based on this element, scientists are trying to invent a cure for AIDS and other diseases. dangerous viruses. The soup is also very nutritious because... more than 50% of the contents of bird saliva is protein.
If you suddenly plan to go to China or Hong Kong and the restaurant price puts you off, you can buy nests separately and prepare the soup yourself; the delicacy is usually sold in expensive and elegant packaging. And if you really want to try it, but a trip to China is not planned in the near future, you can even buy nests on the Internet, for example through the popular Chinese website Alibaba.
Here's the recipe: The swallow's nest is poured with boiling water and kept in hot water for 5-6 hours, the cooling water is constantly replaced with hot water, as a result the nest swells and becomes soft. After that, fluff, dirt and other inclusions are pulled out of it with tweezers. The finished nest is doused with an alkali solution and then thoroughly washed with cold water. There are several variations of serving the dish, but as a rule, this nest is served with strong chicken broth with spices, or chicken is stuffed with it.
After touring the farm, the owner invited us to lunch in the middle of the palm plantation, where the workers were just having lunch.
They offered us, of course, not nests, but traditional Malay food: rice, vegetables in various sauces, salads, fruits and drinks
Farewell photo with the farm owners
And on the way - we need to be in time before dark, which we will talk about in the next post.
Deep in the steamy jungles of Borneo, Malaysia, there is a massive fissure that exposes deposits of limestone, leading to a complex cave system. Entering the cave is not for the faint of heart. The damp walls of the cave have millions of bats hanging from above, while the walls are covered with cockroaches, beetles, rats running across the floor and a variety of other animals capable of causing horror, feasting on bat excrement and dead swiftlets that have fallen from their nests. The caves are also home to snakes that feed on rats and cockroaches. The air is saturated with ammonia from bird droppings. Guano spreads across the floor to about 10 feet deep. Wooden walkways through the exploration section of the cave keep visitors safe from these nightmarish creatures that infest the ground.
Situated on Gomantog Hill inside the protected forest area of the Sabah Department. Gomantog Caves are the largest caves in Sabah. The caves are best known for birds' nests, which have been collected for centuries and used to make bird's nest soup.
Swiftlets build their nests using threads that they extract from saliva. These threads harden when exposed to air. The soup made from these nests is considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. This is a very rare dish that has enormous nutritional value and health benefits. Some nests contain foreign materials such as feathers and twigs and are known as black nests. Both are collected for consumption, but a clean nest is more expensive and highly valued.
The collection of birds' nests is now regulated to avoid overexploitation. Twice a year, from February to April and July to September, trained local workers climb to the cave roof and collect nests using rattan ladders, ropes and bamboo sticks.
The first collection occurs at the beginning of the season, before the swiftlets lay eggs. The birds build another nest in which they lay eggs. After the chicks have hatched and the young swiftlets have left these nests, a second gathering occurs.
The bulk of the collected nests goes to Hong Kong, where they are used for soup, drinks and medicine. Surprisingly, the US is the second largest importer of nests in the world.
A bowl of bird's nest soup in a good restaurant can cost $100. A kilogram of clean nest costs up to $2000.
Despite the high price, the gelatinous soup is practically tasteless; it was described by one author as “vanilla banana with sticky noodles.”
The nests in this photo are approximately 3 inches long. The sample shown in the photo costs about $20 each.