Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
August 28, 1792
Primary Source Reference:
Dunlap's American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 7 Feb 1791
Additional Source Text:
"When it is reported, that in the Indies people eat Birds Nests, there is no man but must wonder at it; nay many think they are imposed upon, because it appears to them quite repugnant to nature, or at least very little acceptable to the palate. But they are reckoned good, light, and wholesome food, very proper for such people; they are so well-dressed with other good ingredients, that they prove an excellent dish to those who do not know what it is; as the materials with which they are made come from fish, they are not unsalubrious." (Postlethwait's Dic.)
Notes:
Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity, high nutritional value in nutrients such as protein, and rich flavor. (Wikipedia)
The extended quotation is from Malachy Postlethwayt's Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, vol. 1 (London, 1774), s.v. Birds-Nests.
Specimen Type:
Nest
Current Scientific Name
