Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

Tasted some ripe fruit. It is so tasty. Excellent. Tasted it side by side with Saba Dippig and they are really different. Dippig has more tartness and Compact is creamier. Kepler says that Dippig is better, but my banana farmer friend prefers Compact for cooking and uncooked. He also says that he can get $.50 more per pound with Compact. I would not choose one over the other. They are different, but still great their own way. They are considered cooking bananas but they are excellent dessert bananas in my opinion. :08:

Re: Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

I've only had "Cardaba" and I don't know what that is in relation to the two you mention. I've got my own praying hands, in the same family, coming along nicely.

Re: Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

Cardaba is what you would find in most markets on Oahu. They are okay, but Compact and Dippig are awesome. The dude that sells me Namwa, gave me a hand of Compact and and one fruit of dippig to sample. I had Dippig before and I love it. Compact is also a very tasty banana. Really surprised on how good they are considering most people consider them to be a cooking banana. I am also surprised on how different these two Sabas tasted from each other. I could eat these any day of the week.

Re: Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

These seem to be saba 2 "Compact." Saba 1 Dippig is longer and not as tightly bunched.

Saba banana can do anything, even ketchup - Le Manger - english version

Re: Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

I wonder if Cardaba really is the same as Saba 2 "Compact" -- maybe yet another cultivar in the Saba subgroup? The flavor of the Cardaba I had wasn't great. It's described in a Philippine guide on banana varieties as being astringent even when ripe. I'd agree with that. And it has that (for me) off putting fluffy/spongy texture that Orinoco has.

Thanks for the report on Dippig and Saba 2.

Re: Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

The fruit that I was eating was not astringent, and it was just yellow with no black. The guy who gave it to me said that it would taste better with a some black on it. I have yet to taste orinoco, so I am not sure about how similar the texture is with orinoco. I was not put off by the texture like I am with Blue Java, but it was different. He told me the Filipino name and it was not Cardaba. I will write down the name the next time I speak to him. I really like it. And my three year old killed it. Aloha

Re: Just had some Saba #2 "Compact"
 

I just found this. Apparently there are several varieties of cooking bananas and saba. Not just two. The banana farmer that I buy bananas from did say that he was the only person that grew this variety locally. I will get the name from him next week.

"There are numerous cultivars under this type such as Cardaba, Abutan, Inabaniko, Turangkog, Sabang puti, Mundo, Gubao, Saba sa Hapon and Bigihan. However, the most common cultivar with commercial importance is the saba"

http://cagayandeoro.da.gov.ph/wp-con...TION-GUIDE.pdf