Feel No Guilt -- Bird's Nest Soup No Longer Politically Incorrect

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

Plus they [censored] in the nests so you are eating bird feces too.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:19:35 -0500, Omelet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

you'd rather eat something that comes out of a bird's ass?

your pal,
blake

blake murphy said:

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:19:35 -0500, Omelet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Mark Thorson <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Quoted message said:

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Quoted message said:

Ick.

Quoted message said:

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

you'd rather eat something that comes out of a bird's ass?

Cloaca.

Quoted message said:

your pal,
blake

--Bryan

In article <[email hidden]>,

blake murphy said:

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:19:35 -0500, Omelet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

you'd rather eat something that comes out of a bird's ass?

your pal,
blake

Eggs come out of the uterus...
At least they are sealed in a shell!

If you want to eat bird [censored] (mixed with spit), be my guest. ;-)
I'll pass my portion to you!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

Omelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

Plus they [censored] in the nests so you are eating bird feces too.
--
Peace, Om

Don't be rediculous! The dried nests are cleaned thoroughly before
cooking!

Arri London said:

Omelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

Plus they [censored] in the nests so you are eating bird feces too.
--
Peace, Om

Don't be rediculous! The dried nests are cleaned thoroughly before
cooking!

Arri London said:

Omelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

Plus they [censored] in the nests so you are eating bird feces too.
--
Peace, Om

Don't be rediculous! The dried nests are cleaned thoroughly before
cooking!

Yes, the nests are cleaned before being prepared (rinse, drain,
repeat... hey, kind of like beans! haha... pick out any feathers or
crud, etc.), but the nests *themselves* are made of hardened swiftlet
saliva, with bits of straw and/or seaweed or whatever. So while there
probably won't be any (much) bird [censored] residue, you are still
essentially munching on some rubbery, gummy bird spit.
I'd probably try it if I were somewhere where it was offered... here in
Ohio, I doubt I'm going to run across it anytime soon, though.

Karen Burns said:

So while there probably won't be any (much)
bird [censored] residue, you are still essentially
munching on some rubbery, gummy bird spit.

It sounds bad when you put it that way,
but what about all those Americans who eat
or drink dried ground-up flies (listed as
"carmine", "carmine extract", or "natural
color" in pink soft drinks and strawberry
ice cream). Or the ones who eat ground-up
meat scraps stuffed into intestines (called
"natural casing" on packages of sausages).
Or the ones who eat fruit with the dead
body of the pollinating insect inside of
it (called "figs"😉. Lots of things sound
disgusting if you try to characterize them
that way.

Now, where can I buy canned surstromming
around here?

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

What was politically incorrect about the caves?

Quoted message said:

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

They kinda were anyway.

--Blair
"But, no, thanks, I'm full up on
bird-barf."

Blair P. Houghton said:

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

What was politically incorrect about the caves?

People were falling from the scaffolding and killing themselves
trying to collect the prized nests.

Since they can't outlaw stupidity, the have to make it un-PC.

-sw

Mark Thorson said:

Karen Burns said:

So while there probably won't be any (much)
bird [censored] residue, you are still essentially
munching on some rubbery, gummy bird spit.

It sounds bad when you put it that way,
but what about all those Americans who eat
or drink dried ground-up flies (listed as
"carmine", "carmine extract", or "natural
color" in pink soft drinks and strawberry
ice cream). Or the ones who eat ground-up
meat scraps stuffed into intestines (called
"natural casing" on packages of sausages).
Or the ones who eat fruit with the dead
body of the pollinating insect inside of
it (called "figs"😉. Lots of things sound
disgusting if you try to characterize them
that way.

Yes, but they taste sooooo good! : )

Karen
fig eater, you can have my share of strawberry 'flavored' anything,
though...

Quoted message said:

Now, where can I buy canned surstromming
around here?

eek! I had to look that one up, and had myself a good laugh here,
reading this (especially the last paragraph):

http://www.allscandinavia.com/surstromming.htm

Karen Burns said:

eek! I had to look that one up, and had myself a good laugh here,
reading this (especially the last paragraph):

http://www.allscandinavia.com/surstromming.htm

Here's another site:

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=surstr%F6mming

In article <[email hidden]>,

Karen Burns said:

Quoted message said:

Now, where can I buy canned surstromming
around here?

eek! I had to look that one up, and had myself a good laugh here,
reading this (especially the last paragraph):

http://www.allscandinavia.com/surstromming.htm

This is nothing. The Romans had their garum. In Southeast Asia they
have many names for fish sauce:

What is Fish Sauce?

Q. A recipe I have for Fish with Lemon Grass asks for 2 teaspoons of
fish sauce. What is this ingredient?
A. Fish sauce is a Southeast Asian staple, made by fermenting small,
whole fish in brine, drawing off the liquid, and steeping that in the
sunlight before it is bottled. In Vietnam, it is called nuoc nam, in
Thailand, nam pla, and in the Philippines, patis. It has a very pungent,
salty taste, and is an essential ingredient in many dishes in these and
neighboring countries. 
Fish sauce is also used as a condiment, and plays a broad role similar
to that of soy sauce in Chinese and Japanese kitchens. Different
varieties of fish sauce are available in most Asian markets, as well as
online.

Then there is Worcestershire sauce, made from fermented anchovies.

Karen Burns said:

Yes, the nests are cleaned before being prepared (rinse, drain,
repeat... hey, kind of like beans! haha... pick out any feathers or
crud, etc.), but the nests *themselves* are made of hardened swiftlet
saliva, with bits of straw and/or seaweed or whatever. So while there
probably won't be any (much) bird [censored] residue, you are still
essentially munching on some rubbery, gummy bird spit.
I'd probably try it if I were somewhere where it was offered... here in
Ohio, I doubt I'm going to run across it anytime soon, though.

I have eaten swallow's nest soups many times, mostly the low quality
stuff served in Chinese restaurants in the West, but I have also eaten
it in Hong Kong at [censored] Lam Moon in Wanchai, a famous old Cantonese
restaurant which Ken Hom once declared to be the best in Hong Kong. One
of its specialities is swallow's nests, offered in many gradations of
quality and price. I chose one of the higher quality offerings, to see
what it was all about. I can report the following: swallow's nests are
nearly devoid of any detectable taste, they are all about texture, which
plays a much, much greater role in Chinese food culture, as well as
about their supposed/imagined health benefits suggested by the
traditional Chinese medicine. The nests may be rubbery and gummy when
raw, but they are soaked or cooked for a long time and the resulting
texture is actually what I would describe as glutinous, jelly-like, or
jelatinous, and all that in a fairly subtle way, somewhat resembling an
egg white. I would say that such foods as swallow's nest, shark fin,
and jellyfish, all of which share some of the above characteristics, are
not anything usually enjoyed by people raised on "Western" food. They
just appear as bland and pointless, as they are perceived as being just
too exotic and expensive to serve as mere carriers of other ingredients'
flavours.

There are accepted Western equivalents of such foods, too, namely
potatoes, pasta and rice, which are not very flavourful in themselves
and are rarely served on their own, with no adornments. They are prized
for their ability to provide the appropriate texture and absorbent
qualities to serve as carriers of, and accompaniments to, other, more
flavourful ingredients.

Victor

In article <[email hidden]>, Arri London <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Omelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
Now, wooden structures are being used to house
swiftlets.

http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
http://swiftletranching.com/
http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Ick.

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

Plus they [censored] in the nests so you are eating bird feces too.
--
Peace, Om

Don't be rediculous! The dried nests are cleaned thoroughly before
cooking!

To get all traces of [censored], you'd have to clean them with soap and water.

That would dissolve the bird spit too. ;-)

This is one dish I'd give a definite "pass" to!

Someone would have to have been awfully hungry to try eating bird spit
in the first place imho! <lol>

Sorry, this just sounds really really gross to me.

YMMV!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:58:36 -0700, BOBOBOnoBO® <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

blake murphy said:

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:19:35 -0500, Omelet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Mark Thorson <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

> It doesn't have to come from caves anymore.
> Now, wooden structures are being used to house
> swiftlets.

Quoted message said:

>http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1184106.htm
>http://swiftletranching.com/
>http://swiftletfarming.com/birdsnest.html

Quoted message said:

> Eat all you want! The birds will make more!

Quoted message said:

Ok, but who the heck wants to eat bird spit?

Quoted message said:

Ick.

Quoted message said:

I'm adventurous with food but even _I_ have my limits!

you'd rather eat something that comes out of a bird's ass?

Cloaca.

Quoted message said:

your pal,
blake

--Bryan

you say cloaca and i say tomahto.

your pal,
ira

blake murphy said:

you say cloaca and i say tomahto.

And I say "check, please!"

--Blair
"Will wash dishes for bromo."

Dan Abel said:

Karen Burns said:

Quoted message said:

Now, where can I buy canned surstromming

Stockholm.

Quoted message said:

This is nothing. The Romans had their garum. In Southeast Asia they
have many names for fish sauce:
Then there is Worcestershire sauce, made from fermented anchovies.

And their close cousin, shrimp paste, which smells like
sewage until you dare to put it in your food and heat it.

Tonight I made broiled pompano with cajun spice (love
the way that works on fish) and along with it had oyster
mushrooms sauteed with onion, fresh lemongrass, garlic, and
baby bok choi. Towards the end of the sautee the fond was
getting a bit heavy, and I wish now I'd deglazed it with
fish sauce. Left a lot of lovely stuff stuck to that pan.
But the veggies were lighter without it, which kinda worked
with the pompano. Still, though.

--Blair

Victor Sack said:

There are accepted Western equivalents of such foods, too, namely
potatoes, pasta and rice, which are not very flavourful in themselves
and are rarely served on their own, with no adornments.

You kidding?

Those three things have amazing flavors.

People who are raised on gravy-covered butter probably
never tasted them, though.

Fat hides flavor.

--Blair