The Daily Mail did an unhinged ‘review’ of Duchess Meghan’s As Ever jam

The British tabloids have one overarching complaint about the Duchess of Sussex: “Why is she forcing us to obsess over every little thing she does or says??” It’s insane. The Mail has been endlessly cycling through years-old footage of Meghan and Harry and writing new “remember when” stories about everything from their appearance at the Jubbly to that time Meghan looked in the general direction of a white person (and made them cry). At no point has any British media outlet acknowledged that they don’t have to pay attention to the Sussexes, nor do they have to stalk every little thing Meghan does. Well, the Mail isn’t going to acknowledge that any time soon. They managed to get their hands on a bottle of As Ever’s jam/spread, and wouldn’t you know, they published an exhaustive “withering take on Meghan’s sold-out raspberry jam.” I’m not going to publish the whole thing (it’s absolutely ridiculous), but I laughed at the Mail’s “exclusive” photos of some staffer playing with the jam. Here are the basics of the Mail’s first ever (???) jam review.

Meghan Markle’s As Ever raspberry spread has finally arrived after over a year of anticipation and an entire rebrand – so, is the Duchess’ infamous berry concoction really all that she’s said it’s cracked up to be? Spoiler: it might be time for her to ‘concentrate’ on a new formula. The precious jars sold out in minutes when they were released Wednesday, but FEMAIL managed to get our hands on the $14 raspberry spread, in keepsake packaging no less, for the first public review.

The Duchess previously explained in an episode of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, that her preserves can’t technically be called jam, because ‘jam is equal parts sugar and fruit.’ Per Food & Wine, jam is regulated by the FDA, and it must come from a single fruit, containing at least 45 percent fruit and 55 percent sugar. What Meghan is selling under As Ever is not called a jam or a preserve – it’s a spread, with ingredients of raspberries, organic pure cane sugar, organic lemon juice concentrate, and fruit pectin, a natural stabilizer.

On Saturday morning, we unboxed Meghan’s seemingly covetable raspberry spread, which arrived in a small box from FedEx. Upon opening, we found a ‘handwritten’ note from Meghan herself right on top, printed on a thick postcard with her As Ever branding stamped in gold foil. When you flip the card around, there’s a message printed in Meghan’s signature calligraphy that reads, ‘Enjoy – Meghan.’ A bit ominous there, Megs.

After reading the note, we continued wading through the packaging to find the jam, which was padded in packing peanuts and wrapped in creamy beige paper, before we finally got to the pièce de résistance. Because we’d splurged for the keepsake packaging, as the Duchess gave customers no other choice during her initial launch, it meant that the 7.6oz jar came in a tan, cylinder-shaped package, embossed with the As Ever logo on its front. The over-the-top packaging, which would be hard to reuse due to its jam-shaped hole, reminded us more of a luxury candle than a condiment we’d throw in the fridge after opening.

But packaging aside, what really matters here is the taste – and we can’t help but think As Ever’s signature product might be in a bit of a jam. Immediately upon opening the jar, we were taken aback by its texture. The spread was very liquid and quite thin – a bit ‘loose,’ if you will. If we hadn’t known better, we’d have thought it melted during its expedited journey to us. That being said, it is described by the brand as including a hint of lemon and a ‘fluid texture’. Typically, a jar of jam is thicker and sticks together, whereas when we stuck our spoon into Meghan’s raspberry spread, its consistency dripped off the silverware like a sauce. It was unappealing to say the least.

As for the taste, it’s extremely sweet – and we mean really sweet. It is reminiscent of a sugary, raspberry dessert sauce rather than a jam or spread that’s meant to be eaten on a piece of toast. The flavor was also surprisingly strong, which meant we could taste the sour lemon in the spread, which Meghan had promised in the product’s description. After trying it by the spoonful, which left us grimacing from the sweetness, we spread some on a toasted piece of sourdough, which is where things began to take a turn for the worse. It was difficult to eat the spread with the toast, as it was so thin that it dribbled everywhere and made a mess. Our once nicely toasted piece of bread became a sopping wet disaster after just a few minutes.

The spread is so sweet that it masked the flavors from the sourdough, with only the sugar from the fruit and tang of the lemon coming through. Drizzled over vanilla ice cream, a piece of pie, or a big stack of pancakes, the spread may work, and may even shine. But on its own, or eaten as one would expect to be able to enjoy jam, the product crumbled, or rather dripped, under the pressure.

[From The Daily Mail]

The Mail: here’s why it’s not jam. Also the Mail: WHY DOESN’T IT HAVE THE PROPERTIES OF JAM??? If you’ve peeped all of Meghan’s “jam” PR, she’s showing the multiple uses of her spread – she’s put it on crepes, she’s put it on ice cream, yogurt, French toast and more. Perhaps someone should spell it out for the Mail? And I love “the jam is too strong” complaint. The jam bullied the Mail. The jam made the Mail cry.

Photos courtesy of Netflix, As Ever IG.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

45 Responses to “The Daily Mail did an unhinged ‘review’ of Duchess Meghan’s As Ever jam”

  1. Bronco says:

    I’m not reading their bs but she LITERALLY SAID it’s not jam. These poor possums, they are really hurting.

    • somebody says:

      Their stupid article literally said “it’s not jam” and then proceeded to criticize it for not having the properties of jam. How do people this stupid live? And, even dumber, are the people who pay them to spread stupid.

      • Bronco says:

        Well of course they are this stupid. As are their readers (substitute stupid for racist). Reminds me of the comment posted here after the show was launched saying she obviously never cooks. What? Racism makes people deaf, dumb and blind. I hope they choke on the not-jam.

    • Indica says:

      Every article shows just how unintelligent the Fail writers are, not to mention the KP loonies who give them their talking points. I swear, my siamese kitty could do this job better and he’s busy snoozing.

  2. Tessa says:

    And this petty person managed to deprive someone who really wanted the jam of getting it. Dm operatives probably monitored site 24 hours

  3. Blogger says:

    The obsession by the Fail 🙄

  4. Look the gutter press would go after Meg even if she found the cure for cancer. This is what they do they find made up fault with everything she does. It’s their way of calling her horrible racist names without saying them.

  5. SURE says:

    So predictable!

  6. BlueSky says:

    The beans on toast people poo-pooing jam 🙄

    • Hypocrisy says:

      Thank you for that 😂… but seriously the fail was never going to give her a good review who are they trying to fool.

    • Foodie Canuk says:

      That last part…. so they are also saying that they cant actually feed themselves without making a mess and acting like the toddlers that they are.

      Pathetic. That is the only word that comes to mind for these idiots. Pathetic….

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      These people invented the Toast sandwich, consisting of two pieces of buttered bread and the filling is a toasted piece of bread. You can also add salt and pepper, if you like seasoning. Which I am guessing these people don’t. I cannot take any food information from them seriously.

    • QuiteContrary says:

      Some Brits also eat chip butties — fries on white rolls slathered with butter, sometimes with a layer of mushy peas. I’ll take my food recs from other folks, thank you very much.

  7. Dee(2) says:

    This has to read as ridiculous to even the haters. It’s ominous when you buy something for the person selling it to say, enjoy? She didn’t give fans any choice but to buy the keepsake packaging? Funny I didn’t have to buy the crepe mix. Almost like you don’t have to buy anything. They don’t need to report on this, they don’t need to revisit conversations from 2018 but they just can’t quit them and act like it’s the Sussexes fault.

  8. Nanea says:

    I’m sure there’s an ICD code somewhere in the F section for the way the Fail is unhinged in their obsession with all things Meghan.

    They’re no longer slowly descending into madness, they’ve made a giant leap right into the mess.

  9. Sun says:

    Omg I’m so embarrassed for them!! They are in such an insane bubble that they seemingly don’t see how CRAZY this makes them look. Even die hard Royalists would have to be perplexed reading how forced and bizarre this is. Good lord.

    I personally love a tart and runny “jam” so it sounds great to me. Have these guys never tried Bonne Maman??

    • Blogger says:

      Looking forward to the Fail’s review of Chuck’s produce…in comparison of course: The King’s Is superior! Haw haw!

    • bisynaptic says:

      I’m thinking of sour cherry preserves… sweet, tart, and runny. 😍 🥰

    • Becks1 says:

      Yeah, I’m reading this and just thinking…..how unhinged can you be over JAM??? Or sorry, a fruit spread. If you like it, great. If not, guess what, NO ONE is making you buy it. And I’m assuming someone in the US bought this and paid for expedited shipping since its not shipping to the UK now. I mean expedited shipping so you can write a hate-filled screed about…..fruit.

      I’m so embarrassed on their behalf. I can’t even get that angry over this stuff anymore. They just seem so crazy and unhinged.

    • Eurydice says:

      Oh no!! The spread that contains only raspberries and lemon tastes like raspberries and lemon!!! And when we poured it all over a slice of bread we couldn’t taste the bread!!! It really is embarrassing.

  10. MsIam says:

    Wait a minute. They said the spread is “too sweet” but they could taste the sour lemon? Huh? Me thinks they were up to some bullshittery with this review.

    • Amy Bee says:

      Yeah, i noticed that too. It can’t both too sweet and too sour.

      • Deanne says:

        Actually if flavours aren’t blended properly or are both too strong, it can make something taste too sour and too sweet at the same time. It’s all about flavour balance. I’m not suggesting that Meghan’s spread actually has that problem,but it is a real thing.

  11. JENNIFER says:

    When are they doing reviews of Charles’s jam? It seems to me they’re focusing on the wrong royal.

  12. bisynaptic says:

    So, what you’re saying is that a little goes a long way?

  13. Amy Bee says:

    Thanks DM for putting money in Meghan’s pocket.

  14. Jais says:

    Yeah, figured as soon as the haters and the tabloids started getting the spread that it was going to get absurd. No surprise there. My spread/jam/not jam arrives Tuesday and I can’t wait! Nothing about this illogical article has discouraged my excitement. That said, a pet peeve I have is when a writer calls Meghan “Megs.” That’s what the derangers call her so instantly I know the writer spends way too much time hanging in deranger-land. It’s the DM so no surprise there but still. Using it in their article is just such a giant beacon call of look I’m an obviously biased lunatic. No chill whatsoever.

  15. sunnyside up says:

    Well if the don’t like it, they will know not to buy it again.

  16. Eurydice says:

    Lol, I love that DM people were poised first thing to try to buy the jam. And I thought As Ever isn’t shipping to the UK yet. And would they be shipping Fed Ex in the first place?

    • Monika says:

      ” As ever is not shipping to the UK yet” I was wondering about this as well. They must had somebody in the US ordering it for them, probably watching anxiously the website, waiting for the products being sold, making sure they got the raspberry spread and then posting it on to the UK. They got their delivery already on Saturday. They must have paid a fortune for priority delivery for a $ 14 raspberry spread. Sounds very odd.

      Not to say that this is a long article to review a jar of raspberry spread.

  17. Jan says:

    They’re not shipping overseas, the Dailyfail like all the tabloids probably use one of their tools to purchased the products.
    They paid for it, no refunds and no returns, so it’s their problem.

  18. Libra says:

    Many who ordered here have not yet received it, so how did U.K. get their hands on it when it has not yet been marketed to them? I call huge lie on this whole article. They never had the real product.

  19. Lauren says:

    Do Americans and Brits even expect the same things from a jam? I can’t remember if this is one of the instances where we use the same word but mean different items, like jelly.

    • Eurydice says:

      Maybe the standards for what makes jam are different? If jam is supposed to be at least 55% sugar and Meghan’s spread has less sugar, then how can it be too sweet compared to jam?

  20. Me at home says:

    So the DM got jam but I didn’t. Ugh. At least they’ve stopped giving Chandauka a platform now that she’s being revealed as shady. When will Katie and William return to work so they can start writing about something else?

  21. CC says:

    “Why did Meghan use the suicide fruit from ‘The White Lotus’ in her quote-unquote jam?”

  22. MikeB says:

    How did they get it so fast? No matter they did what we expected them to do. Next will be the cookie and crepe mixes. The DM makes itself look and act stupid.

  23. QuiteContrary says:

    ‘Enjoy – Meghan.’ A bit ominous there, Megs.

    WTF is that line about? So Meghan is threatening them by writing, “Enjoy”???? They’re so bothered by a biracial woman that everything she says or does is “ominous.”

    Thanks for the side of racism with that fruit spread, Daily Fail.

  24. VilleRose says:

    They are so ridiculous, they even tried to criticize Meghan’s “Enjoy” calligraphy note and make it sound funereal and the “a bit ominous there, Megs” just reads as satire lolololol. As for that whole unhinged paragraph where they describe tasting the jam/spread, they complain it’s too sweet and too sour. So it’s equal parts sweet and sour? Not a bad thing but make up your mind! But in the end Meghan wins since that’s money in her pocket from the DM (or Femail) LOL. The fact a bunch of DM journos were monitoring the site like concert tickets to get their hands on her precious jam shows Meghan has won. They literally have to resort to this desperate measure to generate content about her because they get no info otherwise so they literally have to buy As Ever products.

    The one thing I agree on is the beautiful jam packaging–it really DOES look like a candle package. And that’s what I thought it was until I saw Elizabeth Holmes unbox her gift box from Meghan (the first one I saw on Instagram). And it is absolutely gorgeous and so well crafted but it isn’t really something you can reuse. It’s the kind of thing I would hold on to for awhile but eventually throw out because I hate clutter.

    • MsIam says:

      It looks like you could store rings or earrings on your bedside table. Or a lock of baby hair or a first tooth. However, if a person is not into keepsakes then I guess they would consider it clutter. In that case, you could just buy the jam on its own.

  25. Cadbury Eggs says:

    According to USPS, my As Ever order will be here today…does the DM have a US office or something? There’s no way they could have received an order that fast…

    • Lucky Charm says:

      They probably have someone living in Los Angeles who ordered it, then wrote the review for the DM.

  26. slippers4life says:

    Yeah you DID order a keepsake jar of her raspberry spread and then gave her a bunch of free advertising by writing this article. Now I want raspberry jam with some sour lemon hints.

  27. Normades says:

    I call bullshit on this whole thing. Maybe someone got ahold of her product and they zoomed in. I don’t see how they got it so fast even with overnight delivery to the Uk.

Commenting Guidelines

Read the article before commenting.

We aim to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy and our privacy policy

Do not engage with trolls, contrarians or rude people. Comment "troll" and we will see it.

Please e-mail the moderators at cbcomments at gmail.com to delete a comment if it's offensive or spam. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please email us to get it retrieved.

You can sign up to get an image next to your name at Gravatar.com Thank you!

Leave a comment after you have read the article

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment