Strawberry Nectar – 1l

One liter of strawberry nectar for the whole table

Alain Milliat’s strawberry nectar in the one-liter bottle is a French fruit nectar made from the Senga Sengana variety; it is 40% fruit, ruby red, dense, and slightly reminiscent of compote. This large bottle is meant for guests, the bar, and the dessert kitchen.

Strawberry nectar is made from fruit pulp, not clear juice, because a strawberry cannot be pressed. Alain Milliat, a fruit grower from Orliénas near Lyon, uses 40% pulp of the Senga Sengana—a late-ripening variety with firm, fragrant fruit—to create it. The liter is the format for a group.

Ruby red, dense, with a compote note

Even while pouring, you notice how heavily this nectar flows into the glass.

It glows ruby red, sits pulpy on the tongue, and carries those slightly stewed aromas that recall a pot of freshly cooked strawberries. Fruity, sweet, and lingering—here, the berry wasn't diluted, but stirred. In their 2022 in-house annual ranking, it took third place.

Anyone who snuck jam off a wooden spoon as a child will recognize this tone immediately. There is nothing watery or tame about it; this strawberry nectar has the dark, warm sweetness of a berry that hung on the bush for a long time and was picked late.

A word on practicality, which matters with a large bottle: shake it before pouring, as the pulp settles at the bottom. Once opened, it will keep for about three days if well-refrigerated—so a liter is meant for a group, not a solitary afternoon.

From Daiquiri to milkshake

This is exactly where the liter shows its strength, as this nectar is as much an ingredient as it is a drink.

Served neat and well-chilled at 8 to 12 degrees, it is a velvety delight. With sparkling water, it becomes a spritzer, and with a splash of sparkling wine, an aperitif for everyone at the table. In the bar, it sets the tone in a Daiquiri or Mojito, lending its sweetness to the limes and taking the edge off them.

In the kitchen, a splash goes into a milkshake, a spoonful over vanilla ice cream, or a layer between two sponges. As dense as it is, it holds its own against cream and batter. For breakfast, it stands beside the strawberry jam made from the same variety, making a lovely pair. For individual enjoyment, the strawberry nectar in the small bottle is available.

A Hamburg strawberry in a French glass

The Senga Sengana does not come from Provence, but from Ahrensburg near Hamburg.

There, in 1954, Reinhold von Sengbusch crossed the Markee and Sieger varieties, resulting in a berry that retains its dark aroma even when processed. Its name still carries his mark today: Senga from Sengbusch. In the 1960s, it grew to hold nearly 80% market share in Europe and was the first strawberry suitable for freezing.

That this very North German breed ends up in a French workshop fits Alain: for every fruit, he seeks the origin with the most variety-typical aroma, not the closest one. It is prepared in the Drôme, as close to the fruit as possible. The taste is created on the bush, as Alain emphasizes, not in the pot.

"For me, the strawberry is the fruit of children," he says, "and the fruit that heralds the summer." Alain, a fruit grower himself, took over the family farm in 1983 and, starting in 1997, elevated fruit to the level he knew from wine. Learn more in the portrait of Alain Milliat, and find more velvety varieties among our nectars. Hats off.