What will happen if fake bird's nest is soaked in water

The quality of bird's nests on the market can be said to be uneven. Buying good bird's nests can achieve a good health-care effect. If you buy fake bird's nests, it will not only fail to maintain the body, but may also cause secondary damage to the body. Therefore, you must understand the skills to identify fake bird's nests. For example, after the fake bird's nests are soaked in water, it is difficult to find tiny hairs, while in the real bird's nests, you can find finer swallow hairs.

There are tips to distinguish true and false bird's nests

1. Look at the shape:

Look at the shape of the bird's nest: high-quality bird's nests are characterized by a natural shape, coarse and dense bird's nest fibers, and a large and thick shape. The neatly shaped and beautiful bird's nests are made by artificial combination and pasting (for example, using egg white, gelatin, starch, etc. as adhesives).

2. Look at the color:

Pure bird's nest, whether dry or soaked, is not completely transparent when viewed under light, but appears translucent. The color of real bird's nest is naturally ivory white, light beige and light yellowish brown, and the color distribution is uneven and the surface is relatively rough. Fake bird's nest is artificially bleached, the color is uniform and beautiful, and the surface is neat and smooth.

The color of the same bird's nest varies, with different shades of light and dark, and the color of each bird's nest is also different, while the color of fake bird's nests tends to be the same after bleaching. House swallows have better light transmittance, while fakes made of gutta-percha or pigskin have low light transmittance, and those made of pigskin are even completely opaque, but they will float on water. The color of cave nests is dark yellow and naturally darker, with different colors at the edges, and the color gradually darkens from one side to the other.

3. Look at the thickness:

Normal bird's nests are thin and natural, with uneven cracks. Bird's nests coated with glue are often thicker and without cracks, with flat and smooth corners on both sides. Fake bird's nests made from Indonesian cassava flour are heavier and whiter, with denser bird's nest fibers and an unnaturally neat shape.

4. Smell:

Real dried bird's nest does not have a strong smell, but instead has an "ammonia" smell. If there is a special smell, such as fishy or greasy smell, it is a fake. Only after being fully soaked, the stewed bird's nest will have the aroma of protein. Please note that it can only be the aroma of protein, not the fruit, coconut, etc. flavors mentioned on the Internet. Therefore, a simple and effective way to identify bird's nest is: smell it. It has an ammonia smell (also called fishy smell and chemical smell) before soaking, and an egg white fishy smell after stewing. The taste will be light or strong, but it must be there, otherwise it won’t be fake. (It should be noted that bird's nests bleached with hydrogen peroxide have a very pungent smell, which is the smell of disinfectant in hospitals, and is completely different from the "ammonia smell". Bird's nests made with Malay glue have a sour smell.)

5. Hand feeling:

The bird's nest should feel dry to the touch. Wetter bird's nests contain more water and feel sticky to the touch. Bird's nests are softer to the touch and will become moldy if not stored properly.

6. Water soaking:

Take a small piece of bird's nest and soak it in water. If the bird's nest expands several times, it is a real bird's nest. However, if it does not expand several times and gradually dissolve, and is sticky, and has no elasticity when pressed or pulled, it is a fake bird's nest. After soaking it until it becomes soft, take the silk strips and pull them. If they have poor elasticity and break easily when pulled, they are fake. If they have no elasticity and can be rubbed into a paste with your fingers, they are fake. The water that comes out of the soaking is clear and not turbid is the real bird's nest.