A type of banana cultivar commonly used in cooking in Southeast Asian and Latin American cuisines. Also refers to a grape syrup used in Mediterranean cooking.
The banana sense comes from Filipino saba, referring to a specific variety of cooking banana. The grape syrup sense comes from Arabic dibs as-saba, literally meaning 'grape honey', referring to concentrated grape must.
Saba bananas are perfect for cooking because they hold their shape when heated, unlike sweet bananas that turn mushy. In the Philippines, they're often used in the famous dessert halo-halo, while Mediterranean saba (grape syrup) has been a sweetener for over 2,000 years!
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