Archive for May, 2006
recipelink.com
Peanut Butter Bird’s Nests
Each batch makes approximately 14 nests
1 bag Reeses peanut butter chips (10 oz. )
1 TBSP. solid shortening (Crisco)
1 large can (5oz.) LaChoy thin chow mein noodles
1 bag pastel colored M&M peanut candy
Melt entire bag of chips and 1 tbsp. of shortening slowly in microwave or in double boiler on stove top. If using microwave, heat full power in intervals of 30 seconds at a time and then less as chips begin to melt. You want
the chips and shortening to be well blended and creamy and hot. DO NOT OVERCOOK!!!
Immediately pour the can of chow mien noodles into the peanut butter mixture and toss lightly to coat noodles.
Avoid crunching noodles. Using a spatula can help. Do this quickly, making sure the noodles are evenly coated.
Drop by spoonfuls onto WAX PAPER and gently form into the shape of a nest, leaving a hollowed area in the center in which you immediately place three M&M peanut candies or jelly beans for the “birds eggs”.
CHOCOLATE EGG NESTS
DARK CHOCOLATE CANDY
CHOW MEIN NOODLES
JELLY BEANS
Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Mix the
chow mein noodles into chocolate carefully so not to break them into smaller pieces. When the chocolate is cooled sufficiently to handle, mold this mixture into small bird shaped nests. Before the mixture has time to harden, place the jelly beans or small candy easter eggs in the bowl of the nest. They will stay put when mixture cools. Easy and fun to make.Useyour imagination as to items you could place in the nests.
BUTTERSCOTCH NESTS
6 ounces butterscotch morsels
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 ounce can chow mein noodles
2 cups miniature marshmallows
Melt morsels and marshmallows together. Stir in
peanut butter. Add noodles until thoroughly coated.
Shape into nests with hands. May need to reshape as
cooling. Chill until set. Fill with robin egg malted balls.
May 16th, 2006
nationalgeographic.com
by Jagdeep S. Chhokar and Satish A. Pande
Three birders from Pune in the state of Maharashtra in western India were putting together an illustrated book entitled Birds of the Kokan and the Western Ghats. Satish A. Pande, Vishwas Katdare, and Ram Mone decided to visit Vengurla Rocks, located seven miles off the south coast of Maharashtra in the Arabian Sea, to collect information on the status of terns and edible-nest swiftlets.
The Indian edible-nest swiftlet is a slender, sparrow-size, brown bird with a slightly forked tail. The male produces a long, gelatinous strand of condensed saliva from the sublingual salivary glands, which is then wound into a half-cup nest, bonded to a The relatively tasteless nests are sometimes prepared in soup mixed with chicken, spices, and other flavors as an aphrodisiac, which makes them a much sought-after property. Analysis of bird-nest soup, however, has not revealed any special medicinal value.
Currently, Hong Kong is believed to be the largest consumer of bird nests, importing about a hundred tons every year, at a price of about U.S. $25 million. The major suppliers are Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, southern parts of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The value of nests has increased substantially in recent years due to restricted supplies. Poachers no longer wait for the chicks to fledge before collecting the nests, which has dramatically decreased the swiftlets’ population. Naturalists are concerned that this species may become extinct in five to ten years if the current rates of exploitation are not checked.
At dawn on April 8, 2001, after an hour-long boat ride from the fishing hamlet of Niwati-Medha, the birders landed at the Old Lighthouse Island. On the underside of a lighthouse dome, they discovered about 30 swiftlet nests. This was an exciting discovery, since this nesting site had not been previously recorded. They then moved on to the easternmost Burnt Island, known to be an active nesting site.
As they walked toward the caves, they saw a large number of swiftlets sweeping through the sky above them. On reaching the top of a cliff, they saw birds disappearing into the ground. Closer investigation revealed an opening to a large cave. Inside the dimly lit cavern they were amazed to see bamboo scaffolding built along its wall, a sign that poachers had discovered this remote haven.
They could not negotiate the 22-yard (20-meter) vertical cliff face at the entrance of the cave, so one of the birders swam around the island to another entrance, negotiating the barnacle-studded, sea-urchin-covered sharp rocks, lacerating his hands and feet in the process. When he reached the entrance, he saw thousands of edible-nest swiftlets nesting in the cave’s dark recesses.
Nests were constructed from about three feet (one meter) from the ground all the way to the roof. The nest density varied from 20 per square yard to 40 per square yard, resulting in a conservative estimate of 3,000 nests. All the nests were attended by swiftlets that frequently entered and exited the cave, navigating by echolocation and occasionally dashing against the birders. The nests were pearly white, shiny, sticky, and spongy. From the near-complete state of the nests, the birders concluded that eggs would be laid in just a few days.
As the birders made their way back to Niwati-Medha for the night, they were extremely concerned about nest poaching and the destruction of eggs and chicks.
They invited the villagers to view a video they had made of the day’s discovery. The villagers were surprised by the scaffolding and said that it was probably the work of visitors from the southern part of India who claimed they came to collect pigeon droppings from the cave for medicinal purposes every April and September, just before and after the monsoon season. The villagers could not explain why scaffolding was required to collect bird droppings from the floor of the cave, and they were not aware of the swiftlets and their unique saliva nests. They seemed shocked to learn about the trade in the swiftlet nests for culinary and aphrodisiac purposes in the Far East.
As soon as the birders returned to Pune on April 10th, they contacted the officials of the Forest Department responsible for the protection of wildlife. They also contacted and wrote letters to Forest Department officials urging that the scaffolding be removed and the entrance and two skylights be blocked with iron grids that would permit free access to birds but not to humans. Immediate action was necessary because the poachers were expected to return any time. They also phoned the Conservator of Forests. He was unaware of the situation but offered assurance that Forest Department officials would visit the island on Monday, April 16th, since the next days were public holidays.
Not satisfied with this response, one of the birders contacted the Deputy Conservator of Forests in whose jurisdiction the islands were located. He, too, said that the earliest he could send someone would be Monday. The birders felt frustrated, as their sense of urgency did not seem to be fully shared.
Ultimately, they felt that their case needed public support, and they persuaded a local newspaper to publish the news in its editions for the state of Maharashtra on April 15th. When Monday evening came, the birders discovered that the forest authorities still had not left for the island. In the meantime, they received a phone call from a Niwati-Medha fisherman informing them that a gang of about ten poachers had landed on the rocks that afternoon. The fisherman had watched the video in the village and decided to make the phone call on his own initiative. The newspaper had further convinced him of the urgency of the birders’ efforts.
Alarmed, the birders contacted the Deputy Conservator of Forests again—mercifully he was still in his office at 9 p.m. He promised to dispatch a couple of men to the rocks the next day. He wasdvised that since there were about ten poachers, a larger group of armed forest guards would be necessary. Early the next morning, the birders also contacted the Coast Guard in Bombay, who agreed to send a helicopter and a boat if necessary.
On April 17 at 6 a.m., 15 range forest officers arrived at the rocks. They caught five poachers, equipped with modern rappelling gear, in possession of six bags of bird nests.
Subsequently, they removed the scaffolding and initiated the process of declaring the rocks a protected area and the family to which the swiftlets belong—Apodidae—as protected.
It was learned during the investigation that the poachers were mere collectors. Based on their information, a key operator was arrested in Trichy in south India about 932 miles from the location of the caves. He was reported to have said that there was no market for the bird nests in India and that these were collected by agents from the Far East. This gives an indication of how widespread the nexus of poachers and exploiters of nature and wildlife is, and what those involved in conservation have to contend with.
This incident shows that it is possible for amateur birders and active concerned citizens to make significant contributions to the cause of conservation. The fact that a fisherman from the small hamlet decided to inform the birders of the arrival of poachers attests to the importance of spreading environmental awareness among local people. Perhaps by working together, we can save the Indian edible-nest swiftlets for future generations.
Jagdeep S. Chhokar, Ph.D., is a member of the Indian Bird Conservation Network, a life member of the Bombay Natural History Society, and professor and dean at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India. Satish A. Pande, M.D., has published a number of books and articles on birds and ecology-related issues. Vishwas Katdare and Ram Mone are active members of Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra, a conservation organization.
May 16th, 2006
himti.org
Siapa sih yang belum pernah mendengar sarang burung walet? Seperti yang sudah kita ketahui, sarang burung walet yang asli harganya mahal banget. Dan yang sampe sekarang kita ketahui juga kalo harga sarang burung walet itu mahal karena (katanya sih..) burung walet itu suka membuat sarang di gunung – gunung yang tinggi (bahkan di puncak dan ujung tebing..wuih..). Dan untuk mengambil sarang burung walet harus menggunakan pendaki – pendaki yang sudah sangat berpengalaman.
Dan mungkin aja sarang burung walet ini merupakan sarang burung yang paling mahal di dunia (sejauh yang kita ketahui). Bayangin aja de..1 ons sarang burung walet yang kurang lebih terdiri dari 10 buah sarang dengan kualitas baik bisa dijual dengan harga 1,4 juta rupiah!! Dan katanya si..orang – orang rela membayar mahal sebab sarang burung walet ini dipercayai mempunyai khasiat mampu menyembuhkan berbagai penyakit, mulai dari kelas ringan sampai kelas berat.
Umumnya, sarang burung walet disajikan dalam bentuk sup. Dan dapat kita temukan di restoran – restoran Cina. Sebenarnya, pengkonsumsian sarang burung walet ini bukanlah hal yang baru. Malah, sudah sejak abad 14, sarang burung ini dimanfaatkan sebagai makanan. Di Cina, sup sarang burung walet (birdnest soup) merupakan makanan favorit para raja dan bangsawan. Dan menurut cerita yang masih beredar sampe sekarang (mitos kali..) kaisar Ming sangat menggemari sup yang satu ini. Mungkin karena cerita atau mitosnya itulah, maka sup sarang burung walet dijadikan simbol makanan yang mewah dan bergengsi dan sangat mahal harganya.
Tetapi, pengkonsumsian sarang burung walet di Indonesia bisa dikatakan tergolong rendah, hampir 90% sarang burung walet diekspor ke luar negri. Pengkonsumsian sarang burung walet inipun masih ada bedanya. Kalo di Singapore dan Malaysia, lebih menyukai sarang burung yang mengandung lumut (moss nest), yang biasanya diambil dari gua – gua karang di tepi pantai. Sehingga warnanya pun tidak sebersih sarang burung walet yang dibudidayakan di atap – atap rumah. Katanya si, rasanya lebih kenyal dan tidak cepat pecah saat dimasak. Sedangkan Cina dan Indonesia lebih menyukai sarang burung yang putih bersih.
Untuk menentukan kualitas dari sarang burung walet, ada syarat – syarat tertentu yang harus dipenuhi, misalnya ketebalan sarang. Seperti yang kita ketahui, sarang burung itu dibuat dari air liur burung walet tersebut. Setiap hari, sepasang walet betina dan jantan bergantian membuat sehelai sarang dengan cara mengoleskan air liur mereka ke dinding gua, dinding tebing, ataupun atap rumah. Ingat..Satu satu hari hanya mengoleskan satu helai sarang aja. Jadi jangan heran, untuk membuat sarang saja dibutuhkan waktu sekitar 33-41 hari. Malah, pada saat musim kemarau, pembuatan sarang bisa lebih lama, sekitar 80 hari.
Kualitas itulah yang menetukan harga atau nilai dari sarang burung walet tersebut. Sarang burung dengan kualitas sempurna yaitu memiliki bentuk seperti mangkuk, dindingnya tebal, kuat dengan tinggi kira – kira 5 cm, serta bersih tidak tercemar kotoran, bisa dijual dengan harga yang cukup tinggi. Sebaliknya, sarang burung yang kualitasnya rendah, yaitu yang serat – seratnya tidak utuh, kotor, serta bentuknya cacat, hanya bisa dijual dengan harga murah.
Terdapat dua jenis sarang burung bila dilihat dari warnanya. Ada sarang burung putih yang seluruhnya terbuat dari air liur burung walet, dan sarang burung hitam, yang terbuat dari campuran air liur dan bulu – bulu burung. Sarang burung walet yang berwarna putih lebih mahal harganya. Sarang burung yang putih bersih, harganya bisa mencapai 14 juta rupiah/kg, sedang yang hitam paling hanya sekitar 1 atau 2 juta/kg. Ada juga, sarang burung yang memiliki serat – serat merah di sarangnya seperti darah. Itu harganya jauh lebih mahal lagi, yaitu sekitar 17 juta/kg.
Nah, udah tau kan seluk beluk mengenai sarang burung walet ini..?? Gimana? Ada yang berniat untuk mencoba?
May 15th, 2006
flavorandfortune.com
by Wonona W. Chang
Food: Unusual Ingredients
Rocky was a very charming and friendly waiter. He loved to socialize with his customers. When he found out that I grew up in Sumatra, Indonesia, he said that I was his good neighbor because he came from Malaysia. Since that time he gives the best service whenever we go to the restaurant he works in.
One day Rocky told me that he was going home for a visit and that he could pay for his trip by bringing back bird’s nests to sell here. That was the first time I learned how expensive bird’s nests really are.
There are different grades of bird’s nests and the most expensive one is the red nest because that nest is the first nest the swiflet swallow makes. When this bird builds its nest, the regurgitate which is the adhesive of the nest has a few specks of blood mixed in it, therefore the name. All nests have debris, twigs and feathers in them, the poorest quality have the most feathers and are gray in color. They can demand only the lowest prices because it is most difficult to clean and refine them.
According to Chinese history, the famous eunich and navigator of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Ho, in 1430 A.D. was sent by the emperor to develop trade routes to the south sea. Subsequently, he made seven trips and visited the Philippines, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, and India. That was 62 years before Columbus sailed to America. Zheng Ho brought back many fruits and products that China had never seen before. One of the most exotic and rare was bird’s nests.
Bird’s nest is derived from the nest of the swiflet swallows that nest in the high precipitous cliffs and caves along the sea shores of many of the south sea countries. In China some of the bird’s nests come from the Guangdung and Fujian provinces.
People often risk their lives to climb high cliffs and fetch these nests since they are worth their weight in precious metals. In some places, people train monkeys to scamper up the cliffs to fetch the nests. However, even after they are gathered, they still have to be cleaned and refined before they can demand lofty prices. In the old days, to pay tribute to or to curry favor with those in the Chinese Imperial courts, merchants often include refined bird’s nests as gifts.
Analyses of the refined bird’s nest reveal that it is rich in protein, calcium and phosphorus. Chinese people claim that it is a tonic that improves a woman’s complexion and that it rejuvenates the spirit of the elderly. Bird’s nest, they say, also helps to balance ones Yin and Yang. It is considered to be better than any fancy medication so many people are willing to pay up to $250 per ounce or more for it in America.
Hong Kong is a consumer’s paradise. Whatever you want you can get provided you are willing to pay the price. Knowing that, I called my good friend Eva Lee who lives there and asked her for information about cost and other details about bird’s nest. She advised me to forget about writing such a recipe on bird’s nest, because she said that its cost, even in Hong Kong, is sky high. She felt it was impractical to write about it.
She had found that bird nests at wholesale prices cost $116 to $135 per ounce and so to prepare one bird’s nest dish would cost over $70 per person. A grand feast for twelve with bird’s nest as one of the dishes would cost $2,600 to $4,000 for the table.
Nowadays, even in Hong Kong you seldom hear of people ordering such a fancy feast. In America, if a restaurant would prepare a feast with bird’s nest for less, chances are they would either be serving pseudo bird’s nest or else the amount of bird’s nest in the dish or soup would be minuscule.
It has been a long time since I had bird’s nest soup at home. But it seems like it was just yesterday that I was in Sumatra and saw Ah Mah sitting on a stool patiently picking feathers out of a bird’s nest with a pair of tweezers.
Here is how bird’s nests are refined. First it is soaked in luke-warm water to let it swell, expand, and soften for two to three hours. Most of the debris and twigs can be easily removed at that time, but the small feathers are tenacious and still intermingle with the regurgitate. Next a few drops of oil are added to the water which preferentially adheres to the feathers thereby floating them to the surface of the water for removal. Often a few feathers still remain, so the water has to be changed many times before the bird’s nests are ready for consumption.
Bird’s nest can be prepared sweet or salty. In the sweet style, it can be prepared with rock sugar as a sweet nectar or with fragrant rice and steamed to a congee. In the salty style, it can be prepared as a soup with an herb such as ginseng, stuffed in pigeons or Cornish hens and steamed in a chicken soup or as a savory soup, as presented below. Here are two of my family’s favorite recipes. Note that because we know of no accurate nutrient analysis of bird’s nest, none is provided for these recipes.
Wonona Chang is one of Flavor and Fortune’s Test Kitchen directors, and along with her husband Irving and others, author of many Chinese cookbooks.
May 12th, 2006
Collocalia spodiopygius 11 cm
< --adsense-->
birdwatching-australia.com
· In Australia the White-rumped Swiftlet is restricted to Queensland and occurs
throughout most of the Wet tropics.
· Like small bats it has sonar ability, navigating in dark caves by the process of
echolocation.
· These dark roosting and nesting sites are used throughout the year. The nest is a
tiny bracket of plant material, cemented to the cave wall or roof by the bird’s saliva.
· It is distinguished from the similar swallows and martins by its stiff-winged,
fluttering flight.
· White-rumped Swiftlets build their nests in very large cavities - caves. Colonies of tiny cup-shaped bracket nests, made from plant matter and feathers cemented together with hardened saliva, are glued closely together on the rock walls. Usually one white egg is laid in each. The swiftlets negotiate the dark caves using echo-location. (Source: Department of Environment)
· Round Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge it occurs most commonly when there
is heavy rainfall along the coast, that forces many birds to forage farther inland than
usual.
May 11th, 2006
sragen.go.id
Saat ini, dibeberapa tempat dalam wilayah Kabupaten Sragen banyak berdiri sarang burung wallet, yang diusahakan oleh warga masyarakat. Tidak hanya di perkotaan saja, di desa-desapun bangunan untuk usaha sarang burung wallet banyak yang berdiri . Tujuannya adalah, ingin meraup keuntungan dari usaha sarang walet itu .
Masalah usaha sarang burung walet mendapatkan perhatian dari semua pihak, termasuk dari anggota DPRD Sragen fraksi TNI- POLRI dengan juru bicara Riman , dalam sidang DPRD dengan acara jawaban Bupati pada pandangan umum DPRD. Dikatakan oleh upati,hasil sarang burung sriti lebih besar daripada sarang burung walet. Data yang ada menunjukkan bahwa, sarang burung sriti saat ini ada 68 tempat, merupakan embrio (awal) dari perkembangan menjadi sarang burung walet. Sedangkan sarang burung walet saat ini baru ada 32 tempat, sehingga diharapkan dimasa mendatang bisa memberikan kontribusi lebih banyak lagi bagi Pendapatan Asli Daerah Sendiri (PADS).
Pemkab Sragen, saat ini sedang melakukan pembinaan terus-menerus terhadap pengusahaan sarang burung walet. Selain itu, juga membangun sistim panen sedemikian rupa, sehingga akan dapat dideteksi secara transparan oleh Pemkab Sragen, baik dalam jumlah, hasil maupun harga jual sarang burung walet dan sriti tersebut.
Menurut Kepala Dinas Pendapatan Daerah Kabupaten Sragen Drs. Parsono, MM, retribusi walet merupakan salah satu penyokong PADS Sragen, tapi pemasukkannya masih sangat kecil. Tahun 2003 kemarin, pemasukkan dari retribusi walet Rp. 10 juta, padahal targetnya juga Rp. 10 juta, tidak kurang dan tidak lebih. Secara keseluruhan, PADS Sragen dari berbagai sektor pendapatan tahun 2003 berhasil meraup pemasukkan Rp.42.039.740.221 dari Rp. 40.552.739.000,- yang ditargetkan. Retribusi sarang walet, penarikkannya dilakukan oleh Dinas Kehutanan dan Perkebunan, sehingga Dinas inilah yang berhak melakukan berbagai bentuk pembinaan dan motivasi, sehingga ditahun-tahun mendatang sarang walet dan sriti bisa lebih banyak memberikan pendapatan daerah.
Wakil Bupati Sragen Agus Fatchurrahman,SH pernah menyatakan, jika sarang walet tetap dibiarkan berkembang dan berdiri di tengah kota Sragen, maka dalam jangka waktu 10 tahun mendatang kota Sragen akan menjadi sarang hantu. Oleh sebab itu, bangunan sarang walet diarahkan ke luar kota, dan didalam kota sudah tertutup untuk usaha sarang walet.
May 9th, 2006
www.suite101.com
By Mazhar Ali
‘BLACKNEST’ SWIFTLET
Size Sparrow-; length 14 cm (15 1/2 in).
Field Characters Very similar to, and practically indistinguishable from Himalayan Swiftlet. Slightly heavy build, proportionately broader wings, and less forked tail suggestive.
Hand Diagnosis. Tips of downy bases of mantle and rump feathers mainly black. Tail almost square: depth of fork 2-3 mm. Tarsus thickly feathered.
Status , Habitat, etc. Resident (?): eastern Bhutan and Arunachal Pardesh (?), between 2100 and 3900m.
Call: not recorded; utters the wooden rattle-like note for echo-location in dark caves.
WHITETHROATED SPINETAIL SWIFT
Size Bulbul +; stouter. Length 20 cm(8 in).
Field Characters A large blackish brown swift with long narrow pionted, bow-shaped wings and short tail. Underwing uniform blackish. Above, glossy black except middle of back which is pale whitish brown. Below, chin, throat and under tail-coverts white; rest dark brown with a whitish patch on each flank (subspecies nudipes). Sexes alike.
Hand Diagnosis. Webs of tail-feathers rounded at tips, the rigid shafts projecting as spines or needles beyond.
Status, Habitat, etc. Resident; rather uncommon and patchily distributed-normally between 1250 and 4000 m: neighbourhood of fissured crags and rock scarps. Reputed to be one our fastest flying birds. Keeps on the wings all day in loose parties or flocks, swishing at tremendous speed round contours and hawking over alpine pastures and river valleys, covering enormous distances in the day’s foraging. Roosts colonially in clefts and fissures (possibly also within hollow tree-trunks) clinging upright to the rough surfaces.
Food: flying insects, cheefly beetles, bugs, and ants.
Call: loud, shrill, lively ’screams’ uttered on the wing while disporting themselves porior to retiring at dusk.
ALPINE SWIFT
Size Bulbul +; stouter. Length 22 cm(8 1/2 in).
Field Characters A large streamlined sooty brown swift with very long, narrow, bow-shaped wings. Underparts white, with a brown pectoral band across breast. Sexes alike.
Status, Habitat, etc. Resident (possibly largely a seasonal visitor to the higher altitudes); from planes levels up to 2500 m. Subject to considerable local migration and weather-dependent nomadism, in addition to far ranging daily foraging movements. Exceedingly fast on the wing. Has the characteristic habit of srifts of ‘balling’ up in the sky at sunset in a close-packed rabble, whirling, wheeling and tumbling playfully to the accompaniment of shrill, joyous screams before retiring to the communal roost in fissures of precipitous cliffs.
Food: winged insects hawked in the air.
Call: short, shrill, trmulous twittering screams uttered on the wing, as above.
May 8th, 2006
pubmedcentral.nih.gov
M Flashner, P Wang, J B Hurley, and S W Tanenbaum
The elective isolation of a soil microorganism, tentatively assigned to the genus Arthrobacter, which produced an extracellular neuraminidase is described. The secretion of neuraminidase from washed cells in minimal medium required the presence of sialo-containing glycoproteins, whereas free N-acetyl-neuraminic asid of N-acetylmannosamine were poor inducers. No enzyme could be dected in the induction fitrated of cells, in the absence of inducer or in the culture filtrate of cells grown in a complete medium. The routine enzyme inducer was a hot-water extract of “edible bird’s nest.” Mild acid treatment (0.05 N H2SO4) of this extract increased enzyme activity two–to threefold and the specific activity about eightfold. Neuraminidase induction with acid-treated bird’s nest was manifested at a linear rate for 6 h without increase in cell number. No other anticipated glycohydrolase or protease activities were foud. The amount of enzyme located within the cells was barely detectable as compared to that found in the induction filtrate. Experiments with chloramphenicol or chlortetracycline indicate that de novo protein synthesis was required for neuraminidase production and that this exoenzyme was not released from a preformed pool. Neuraminidase from this source has an apparent molecular weight of 87,000, a pH optimum of 5 to 6, and an apparent Km of 2.08 mg/ml for collocalia mucoid and 3.3 X 10(-3) M for N-acetylneuraminlactose and is insensitive both to Ca2+ ions and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Preliminary studies indicate that the enzyme can hydrolyze alpha-2,3-, alpha-2,6-, or alph-2-8-N-acetylneuraminylglycosidic linkages. From total activity data and purification criteria, it would appear that this isolate can produce about 5 mg of enzyme per liter of induction medium.
May 5th, 2006
neatnesindo.com
Swallow Nests with Young Pigeon Soup
Ingredients :
2 soaked whole swallow nest (approx. 2.66 oz)
(as has been prepared in “Basic Preparation”)
1 Young pigeon
2 oz. lotus seeds
4 oz. lean pork
1/4 dried tangerine peel
8 cups of boiling water
salt to taste
Method :
1.
Soak dried tangerine peel and remove pith. Wash lotus seeds and soak for 30 minutes.
2.
Remove gut and clean pigeon. Parboil pigeon and lean pork. Wash and drain.
3.
Put pigeon, lean pork, lotus seeds and dried tangerine peel into a steaming pot. Add boiling water and cover the lid. Stew for 2 1/2 hours. Then add swallow nests and stew for 10 minutes. Season with salt and serve hot.
Chicken and Swallow Nests Steam Rice (Salty)
Ingredients :
1 soaked whole bird’s nest (approx. 1.33 oz)
8 oz. chicken leg meat
2 dried black mushroom
4 red dates
1 cup of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of water
2 cups of rice
shredded spring onion
soy sauce
Marinade :
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp wine
1 tsp ginger juice
3/4 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp oil
Method :
1.
Drain bird’s nest. Simmer with chicken stock for 2 minutes and drain.
2.
Wash chicken. Wipe dry. Cut into serving pieces. Soak mushrooms and red dates until they are tender. Cut into slices. Put chicken, mushroom and red dates into a bowl. Add marinade and stir well. Set aside.
3.
Wash rice. Put into a pot. Then add suitable amount of water. Cook until the rice is half done. Then put chicken, mushroom and red dates on top of the rice. Turn to low heat and cook for a while. Add bird’s nest. Cover with lid until the rice is cooked. Mix the ingredients with small amount of soy sauce for color and taste. Add shredded spring onion on top. Serve hot.
Bird’s Nest & Gingkoes Syrup
Ingredients :
113 g soaked superior bird’s nest
75 g gingkoes
2 red dates
94 g rock sugar
4 cups water
Method :
1. Remove shells from gingkoes. Soak in boiling water for s while. Remove membrane and stalks. Wash red dates and remove pits. Then put red dates and gingkoes into a pot. Add 4 cups of water. Cook for 30 minutes.
2. Rinse rock sugar. Add into red dates and gingkoes water. Cook until rock sugar has dissloved. Put in bird’s nest. Then cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve. (stir while cooking so that the ingredients will not stick to the bottom of the pot.)
May 3rd, 2006
jatim.go.id
-Berita Kesehatan - Dinas Informasi dan Komunikas
Menurut Kepala Dinas Peternakan Jatim, Sigit Hanggono drh, burung ini termasuk hewan liar yang sifatnya berkelompok dan tidak mau berhubungan dengan hewan lain. “bagaimana bisa divaksin, jika dipegang saja burung ini bisa mati. Dan kecil sekali resiko penularannya pada manusia,” katanya, saat membuka Rapat Koordinasi Teknis Propinsi Jatim tentang Deteksi Dini flu Burung dan Mekanisme Kerja Tim Task Force Penanggulangan Flu Burung tahun 2006, Surabaya, Selasa (28/3).
Dirinya juga menolak, jika ada pihak yang meminta pemusnahan burung walet di Jatim karena hal itu dianggap merugikan masyarakat. “Indonesia merupakan kekuatan ke 3 dunia dalam hal burung walet, jadi tidak mungkin di musnahkan seperti unggas yang lain,” ujar Sigit.
Dalam kesempatan ini dirinya menjelaskan kepada Masyarakat agar tidak perlu terlalu khawatir dengan penyebaran virus flu burung (avian invluence) yang ada di Jatim. Karena virus ini sangat mudah dimusnahkan sehingga resiko penularan terhadap manusia relatif kecil.
Menurutnya, perlu pencegahan sejak dini agar manusia tidak terjangkiti virus ini. Selain itu dia juga menjelaskan pencegahan untuk menjauhkan AI dari manusia antara lain yang pertama, mematikan virus dengan cara memasak daging unggas dengan benar, mencuci tangan dengan sabun dan lain sebagainya.
Kedua adalah menjauhkan sumber virus, mematikan sumber penularan, dengan cara memusnahkan unggas yang terjangkit virus flu burung. Faksinasi hewan juga merupakan pencegahan penyebaran virus ini. Dan sejak 2004, Disnak Jatim telah menyebarkan 160 juta vaksin dan 2005 sebanyak 41,5 juta vaksin. Sedangkan, tahun ini per Februari 2006 telah melakukan strategi selain menambah jumlah vaksin yang disebarkan dan penyemprotan desinfektan.
Dan yang terakhir adalah public awarness melalui brosur dan media massa diharapkan dapat menambah kewaspadaan serta mengembalikan kepercayaan dan kekawatiran masyarakat.
Sigit juga mengatakan sosialisasi ini bertujuan, untuk meningkatkan peran serta semua pihak secara aktif dalam penanggulangan virus yang mempunyai nama lain H5N1 ini. Selain itu diharapkan dapat menekan penyebaran virus ini sejak dini dengan cara deteksi virus sejak awal.(icl)
May 2nd, 2006
Next Posts
Previous Posts