Wajos Strawberry Rhubarb Crema. 34 percent strawberry puree, spirit vinegar and one percent rhubarb, thick and fruity – the crema for summer salads, goat cheese and vanilla ice cream.

Wajos Strawberry Rhubarb Crema is a vinegar preparation made from sugar, 33.9 percent strawberry puree, spirit vinegar and 1 percent rhubarb juice, with 4 percent acidity, 250 ml from Dohr on the Moselle. Not a fruit syrup, not a pickling strawberry vinegar, not a balsamic, but a thick, sweet-and-sour crema for drizzling. Vegan.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crema by Wajos captures a season that would otherwise last only six weeks. Strawberries and rhubarb are available together only from May to June, then it’s over – the rhubarb becomes woody, the strawberries come from further away. This bottle turns that into something for the whole year: the strawberry puree brings the fruit, the rhubarb the idea of acidity, the spirit vinegar the real thing. Over lamb's lettuce in January, it tastes like the first tray of cake in May. One tablespoon is enough, and the salad is speckled pink and sweeter than children expect vinegar to be.

Strawberry first, rhubarb only as a hint, vinegar at the end

The crema is red, thick, and flows slowly from the spoon. One third of the bottle is strawberry puree, and that is what you taste first: ripe, sweet, like strawberries that stood in the sun. The rhubarb is in there with one percent juice – honestly, more in name than in taste; the acidity comes from the spirit vinegar with 4 percent. Sugar is at the top of the ingredient list, 46 grams per 100 milliliters, plus natural flavorings, carrot concentrate for the color and sulfites. For those expecting a tart, acid-forward rhubarb vinegar, this crema is not suitable – the Raspberry Balsam with 5.3 percent acidity is a better fit.

Over leafy greens, goat cheese, asparagus and vanilla ice cream

Leafy greens with oil, salt and a tablespoon of crema is the summer plate, plus sliced strawberries if they are in season. For fresh goat cheese or burrata on bread, it is the fruity counterpart to the salt. Over white asparagus with butter, a teaspoon provides the acidity that usually comes from lemon. As a dessert: over vanilla ice cream, panna cotta, yogurt or quark – a spoonful is enough, because it is sweeter than most of what lies beneath it. On pancakes it replaces jam; stirred into sparkling wine or soda water it becomes a summer drink for the afternoon. It doesn't fit in vinaigrette for cucumber salad – for that, it is too sweet and too thick. And it shouldn't be cooked with, as the sugar caramelizes.

Our tip: Arugula, strawberries, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, topped with the crema and some basil-infused olive oil – the salad we make most often in June.

Fruit cremas from a winemaking family on the Moselle

Wajos produces its cremas in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle, and vinegar is close to the house: the Oster family in Ediger-Eller has been making wine for 15 generations; the name stands for Walter Josef Oster. From his liqueur manufacture of the 1980s, Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg built the brand with over 80 employees; an in-house laboratory tests every crema before it goes into the bottle.

The crema for summer salads and for people who prefer strawberries over balsamic

It is the bottle for everyone who finds dark balsamic cremas too heavy, and for households where salad is only eaten with a touch of sweetness. As a gift, it fits into a summer basket next to the Peach Passion Fruit Crema; the dark alternative is the Fig Date Crema. All varieties are on our Wajos page. Store in a cool, dry place away from light; once opened, keep in the refrigerator; 250 milliliters will last through the whole summer at one tablespoon per salad. It is not suitable for those who avoid sulfites, or for those who expect more from the rhubarb than just its name.

Strawberry, a hint of rhubarb and a mild vinegar – the summer crema from the Moselle for salad, goat cheese and vanilla ice cream.