Wajos Baked Apple Crema. Apple vinegar, apple juice and winter spices, mild and sweet – the crema for lamb's lettuce, red cabbage and sauce for goose.

Wajos Baked Apple Crema is a vinegar preparation made from apple vinegar, 5.2 percent apple juice from concentrate, sugar and natural flavorings, with 3 percent acidity, 250 ml from Dohr on the Moselle. Not an apple vinegar for drinking, not a balsamic, not a syrup for pastries, but a mild, sweet crema with the taste of baked apple and cinnamon. Vegan.

Baked Apple Crema by Wajos has a permanent place on our counter starting in November. It gets dark outside by four o'clock, the first red cabbage is in the oven, and the lamb's lettuce needs something to go with it – something other than a summery lemon dressing. A spoonful of crema, a splash of walnut oil, salt, and the salad tastes of exactly what is currently smelling delicious in the oven: apple, cinnamon, a hint of star anise. This bottle is our winter colleague to the Fig-Date Crema – brighter, more apple-forward, with less intensity and more warmth.

Apple and cinnamon at the forefront, the vinegar stays in the background

The crema is lighter and thinner than dark balsamic cremas – apple vinegar instead of Modena. First, you taste the apple, sweet and cooked like a baked apple from the oven, then the spices, which Wajos describes as cinnamon and star anise. The apple vinegar keeps a low profile with 3 percent acidity. Honestly: water and sugar are at the front of the ingredient list, apple juice is included at 5.2 percent, and the baked apple flavor comes from natural aromas. 51 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters make it a sweet crema; it contains potassium metabisulfite as an antioxidant, i.e., sulfites. It is not suitable for those who want a strong, acidity-driven vinegar – the Raspberry Balsamic with 5.3 percent acidity is a better choice then.

Over lamb's lettuce, red cabbage, game sauce and vanilla ice cream

The winter classic is lamb's lettuce with walnuts, bacon or goat cheese, a nutty oil and a tablespoon of crema – that is the entire dressing. Stir a tablespoon into red cabbage or apple red cabbage at the end; it rounds off the sweetness. Gravy for goose, duck or game gets the apple note with a spoonful just before serving that would otherwise come from the baked apple on the plate. Over vanilla ice cream, rice pudding or pancakes, it's a winter dessert in a minute. It also works well with beef carpaccio instead of balsamic, and it replaces apple chutney on a snack platter with mountain cheese. It is not suitable for pickling, cucumber salad, or long-term cooking – the sugar caramelizes and the aroma evaporates.

Our tip: Oven-roasted pumpkin with goat cheese, drizzled with Baked Apple Crema just before serving – the dinner we have on our table most often between November and January.

Winter goods from Dohr, where a winemaking family makes cremas

Wajos is located in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle and originated from the Oster family winery in Ediger-Eller – 15 generations of winemakers; the name stands for Walter Josef Oster, the founder of the family. Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg turned the liqueur manufactory of the 1980s into the Wajos brand starting in the 2000s; today, over 80 employees produce the majority of the approximately 900 items in Dohr and test them in their own laboratory. For us, the Baked Apple Crema is part of our autumn and winter range.

The crema for winter and for people who find balsamic too heavy

It is the bottle for everyone who likes winter salads and is looking for a dressing that fits the season – and for everyone who finds dark balsamic cremas too heavy. As a gift, it belongs in an Advent basket next to Grandmother’s Baked Apple Liqueur; the year-round alternative is the Fig-Date Crema, and all varieties are available on our Wajos page. Store in a dry place away from light; once opened, keep in the refrigerator; 250 milliliters lasts through the whole winter if using a tablespoon per salad. It is not suitable for those who avoid sulfites or for those who expect a summer dressing in July.

Apple, cinnamon and a mild apple vinegar – the winter crema from the Moselle for lamb's lettuce, red cabbage and sauce for goose.