On Food and Cooking

made not from cane, but from grapes.
Italian saba is grape juice cooked down to
a concentrated, viscous syrup. It contains
about equal amounts of glucose and
fructose, and in addition has a distinct
tartness due to the simultaneous
concentration of the grape acids. In the
16th century, Nostradamus described
making various sweet preparations with
saba, and noted that “in places where there
is neither sugar nor honey, the sovereign
sun produces and nourishes other fruits
which...come to satisfy our sensuous
desire....”
Manufactured fruit syrups are a
relatively recent version of the traditional
syrups. They’re made from batches of
various fruits, including apples, pears, and
grapes, that are in surplus, damaged, or
otherwise not suitable for other uses. Both
aroma and color are removed from the
juice, which is concentrated to about 75%