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View Full Version : Name of a cooking banana - very angular fruit


raygrogan
03-17-2011, 06:39 PM
This type of cooking banana can be found in Honolulu Chinatown markets. It may grow here. It is pricey, so probably not easy to grow, not very productive, etc. If it gets very ripe OK to eat raw. Very good cooked.

[img] Banana Gallery - Cooking bananas close (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=40862) [img]

Oops, I had better go read the picture instructions again.

Any clues to its ID? How does it do with BBTV?

Gabe15
03-18-2011, 05:11 AM
It is 'Saba', local name is usually 'Dippig'. It is not particularly difficult to grow, can be slow sometimes, but are normally rather vigorous. It is susceptible to BBTV but may be slower to show symptoms than other plants.

raygrogan
03-18-2011, 01:16 PM
Thanks, Gabe. And with the name and searching, bingo on the BBTV - results like http://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/files/files/pdf/partnerships/ISHS_symptomless.pdf And on how to cook - here is a guy who likes them boiled green: Manong Ken's Recipe of the Month - Binayong Saging (http://www.carinderia.net/recipes/binayo.html) and has some pix that look like the bananas I bought.

chong
03-19-2011, 02:20 PM
Thanks, Gabe. And with the name and searching, bingo on the BBTV - results like http://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/files/files/pdf/partnerships/ISHS_symptomless.pdf And on how to cook - here is a guy who likes them boiled green: Manong Ken's Recipe of the Month - Binayong Saging (http://www.carinderia.net/recipes/binayo.html) and has some pix that look like the bananas I bought.

In the Philippines, green Saba is cooked in various ways for snacks and meals or dessert. E.g., green Saba and Praying Hands are peeled and sliced thinly, then deep fried. They were simply called "Banana Crackers" when I was growing up. When salted, people will snack on these while drinking beer, rum, gin, or whatever. Most kids prefer to sprinkle sugar on the "crackers", but for more "formal" serving, hosts would glaze the crackers with caramel. It was only in the mid-late 60s that they were called banana "chips", when they were mass produced for export.

"Manong Ken's" recipe is similar to Southern Luzon's "Linubac" (Bicol) or "Nilupak" (Tagalog). The difference is that the boiled green banana pulp is pounded more finely (than what are shown in the pictures), similiar to the consistency of poi. And actually, it's a lot stickier than poi. Also, grated coconut comes from green fruit, so that the meat has the texture of firm finger jello, not hard coconut, and the color has just changed from translucent to mostly white. They are served in a large bowl, much like mashed potatos.

The price of Saba there is quite surprising, considering that they grow there. And they are very strong growers. During the peak season here in Seattle, the price of Saba may be as low as $0.39 a pound. Typically, they're between $0.49 and $0.69 a pound.

I could not eat a raw Saba, no matter how ripe. I would get a bad tummy ache if I do. It might taste good, but it's just too heavy. I don't know what cooking does to it, but it sure makes a world of difference for me.

raygrogan
03-19-2011, 04:13 PM
THanks Chong for great how-to-eat, the key thing. Interesting to me is the stickiness of the banana. I've just started trying to grow taro to make poi (vs leaf which is very easy to both grow and prepare), and some of the varieties I have do not have enough of the stickiness ("ulika" I've just been taught by David H). He also told me about breadfruit poi having lots of ulika, so I tried mixing the two and it works. Now with your green banana trick I have another source of stickiness. In some stores (I found in Iowa, in a Mediterranean store, so I think everywhere if you find the right store) you can find taro frozen, cut up into little cubes ready to cook and pound, but it has zero ulika, so the poi texture is like mashed potatoes. The green bananas (plantains) are also available, so you may have given me a good way to make poi on demand in Iowa. Ray

chong
03-19-2011, 04:51 PM
You're very welcome, Ray. I'm surprised that you can't get fresh taro roots there. Aren't there any Asian stores in the your city? Even in Richland, WA, I was delighted to find a Filipino store there. And they periodically have taro root. I work in Richland during the week and go back to Seattle on weekends, so I can easily get tropical fruits and vegetables when I'm here. But sometimes during the week, I would need some Philippine ingredient or something, and I am fortunate that there is a Filipino store that sells Asian vegetables and goods. Although, they cost quite a bit more than in Seattle. When I was assigned to FEMA in Hattiesburg, MS, I found an Asian store on the other side of the freeway from our hotel, and I distinctly remember buying both the taro leaves and the root for a couple of dishes that we were preparing.

I mentioned that the Linubac was stickier than poi. To illustrate this, whenever the dish is served, the host usually warns denture wearers to be careful when pulling the spoon out or their dentures will end up with the spoon. LOL.

How unusual, another poi lover! I like poi myself. Particularly, with pork dishes. But I know a lot more people that don't like them than people that like them. But then, I remember working with a guy from KS who absolutely hated rice. He was strictly a meat and potatos guy, he said.

Yug
03-22-2011, 03:01 AM
If it is pricey, go to the swap meet at Kam drive-in in Pearl City.

A local that speaks both Tagalog and Ilocano told me that 'Saba' merely means banana in the Philippines. The proper name to distinguish this type from other bananas is "Dippig" (deep-pig) which is also the name I bought my plants under. If you are being charged a lot for this type, you are probably getting taken advantage of.

raygrogan
03-22-2011, 11:28 AM
Thanks, Yug, esp for the what the words mean and pronounciation.

chong
03-23-2011, 12:28 AM
If it is pricey, go to the swap meet at Kam drive-in in Pearl City.

A local that speaks both Tagalog and Ilocano told me that 'Saba' merely means banana in the Philippines. The proper name to distinguish this type from other bananas is "Dippig" (deep-pig) which is also the name I bought my plants under. If you are being charged a lot for this type, you are probably getting taken advantage of.

Saba is the specific name of the variety in the Philippines. Dippig is the Hawaiian name for the variety. "Saging", not "Saba", is the Philippine word for banana.

Yug
04-20-2011, 08:48 PM
Saba is the specific name of the variety in the Philippines. Dippig is the Hawaiian name for the variety. "Saging", not "Saba", is the Philippine word for banana.

My response was the same - saging is banana (in Tagalog), I was told by an Ilocano speaker that saba refers to the banana plant, and merely means banana. Now, I'm not an expert, nor do I know any Ilocano, so I took my friend's word for it. When a speaker of Tagalog, Ilocano, and English says it is Dippig vice Saba, they know more than I do about it.

raygrogan - walang anuman!