To identify real and fake bird's nests, you need to look, smell, and pull them three times. First look: the bird's nest should have a filamentous structure, and the bird's nest composed of pieces is not a bird's nest; Second smell: The bird's nest has a special smell, fishy or greasy smell, it is fake; Third pull: Take a small piece of bird's nest and soak it in water. After it is soft, take the silk strip and pull it. If it has poor elasticity and breaks as soon as you pull it, it is a fake. If you rub it with your fingers, if it has no elasticity and can be kneaded into a paste, it is a fake. Look: the bird's nest should have a filamentous structure, and the piece structure is not a real bird's nest
; a pure bird's nest is not complete whether it is soaked or viewed under light
Transparent, but translucent.
Smell: Bird's nest has a unique fragrance, but there is no strong smell. The smell is special, fishy
Fishy or greasy smell is fake;
Soaking: Bird's nest will swell after being soaked in water. When it is soft, take the silk strip and pull it, and the elasticity is poor.< /p>
Those that break when pulled are fake; those that have no elasticity and can be kneaded into a paste when rubbed with your fingers are also fake; after being soaked in water, the water quality of real bird's nests is still clear. The false nests
have other ingredients that will dissolve in the water after entering the water, causing the water color to be mixed.
Those with low foaming rate are also fakes.
Burn: Use fire to ignite dried bird's nest pieces. If it is a real bird's nest, there will never be any splashing sparks with violent sound
Touch: Real bird's nest is It is formed from swiftlet saliva and feels obviously rough to the touch. When choosing bird's nests, you must look carefully. Many bird's nests on the market are now fake, and the techniques for making them are becoming more and more sophisticated. It is basically impossible for an expert to tell the difference.
The methods of making fake bird's nests include: adding glue, mixing with water, chemical bleaching, and dyeing red blood bird's nests.
Here are some ways to distinguish between real and fake bird's nests:
1. Look at the appearance
The ones that look full and look good are basically those that have been glued. If you don’t even look at them, they must be fake. Just imagine, the bird's nest is made by swiftlets, and it will contain some impurities such as bird feathers or branches. How can it be so perfect after being manually picked?
2. Compare the price by size
A single bird's nest is basically between 3.8 and 8 grams. The price is also determined based on the size of the lamp and the picking time! For example: a single bird's nest in a drugstore or specialty store costs between 5 grams, and the price is about 50 yuan/gram. The sales lady also tells you: "If you want to buy it, I can give you an internal employee price" or something like that. With such words, it is conceivable that the quality of the bird's nest is not much better, and there must have been some manipulation.
3. Check the packaging and storage
Good bird's nests can be stored at room temperature for three years. There is no need to put them in the refrigerator or vacuum package. If the sales lady tells you: "After buying the bird's nest, you must put it in the refrigerator for storage" and also stipulates that you must eat it within a certain time, otherwise the nutritional value of the bird's nest will not be affected. This kind of bird's nest must have been added with glue or water to achieve weight gain. The same goes for vacuum packaging!
4. Smell
The bird's nest itself has a faint fragrance. If you smell a strong fishy or strange smell, there must be something wrong with the bird's nest. It's either chemically bleached or glued or something.
5. Look at the hair (soaking hair)
The so-called hair refers to the fact that dry bird's nests will absorb water and expand after being soaked in water. Generally, the hair of pure bird's nests 8~13 times (for example: 3 grams of dry pure bird’s nest reaches 24~36 grams after soaking). Bird's nests that have been added with glue or water are generally smaller, about 5 to 8 times smaller, because they have been added with glue and water. It’s not pure bird’s nest.
6. Edible
After being stewed, the pure bird's nest will be in the shape of strips, with different lengths and thicknesses; it will have a light protein smell but will not be pungent; the color will be translucent It's light milky yellow, not too white; it tastes smooth when eaten.
7. Fake blood swallows
It should be emphasized here that all blood swallows on the market are fake. Because the annual global production of blood swallows is less than 10 kilograms, let alone the price. Basically, they are sold by powerful and wealthy people. How could they be bought by us ordinary people? Just think about it.
80% of the blood bird's nests on the market are made from low-quality bird's nests contaminated with "guano". The color will not fade even after soaking and stewing. Harmful ingredients have penetrated into the bird's nest. Do you dare to eat it?
Please combine the above 7 points to avoid spending money on buying fake bird’s nests, which are harmful to eat and a pity to throw away! ! !
Special reminder: Don’t think that bird’s nests bought in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and other places are necessarily genuine. Because the source of fake ginseng comes from Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, the places of origin, and the bird's nests from Hong Kong and Singapore are also imported from these three places, the sellers don't even know that there are fake ginseng! Don't make this misunderstanding. . .