I received my monarchy-destroying As Ever package on Monday, and I’ve been enjoying the raspberry jam/spread/sauce ever since. It’s such a nice little treat in the evenings, a small bowl of vanilla ice cream with some As Ever spread. The taste is heavenly! There are obviously tons of uses for the spread – some people are using it as traditional jam on toast, and I would imagine it would be great on many sandwiches (I bet it’s fantastic on a turkey club??), and some people are using it on cakes and crepes. The point is, Meghan’s product launch is already a huge success and she already has one iconic product which everyone is obsessed with. I’m actually mad at myself that I didn’t buy two jars of jam!
Anyway, after the Daily Mail ran several “critical” pieces about the As Ever spread, the Times decided to do their own coverage. I hate myself for admitting this, but what the Times of London did was sort of clever. They did a blind taste test using three jams on toast. They got six Times editors/journalists to participate in it. The journalists ended up loving the As Ever spread. Here are some of the “verdicts”:
Phyllis Akalin: It’s banging
Reader, I wanted to hate Meghan’s “spread”, but it was banging. Not too sweet and sugary, zingy … I am a sucker for sour fruit, and the As Ever jam was just the right amount of sour. Suddenly I feel the urge to binge With Love, Meghan, fill a mason jar with store-bought snacks, calligraph a label and send it to my parents.As a child I used to steal unripe red currants, gooseberries and blackberries from my grandparents’ garden in suburban western Germany. Maybe Meghan would like to spend a few days with me there? We could make jam together and, as she writes on the back of her hibiscus tea, put tea leaves in a jar and let it “steep in the warmth of the sun”? Then the sugar rush passes and cold reality sets in: $14 is an insane amount to spend on jam, even in New York. But it was nice while it lasted.
Will Pavia: The jam is her biggest hit since the fifth season of Suits
Meghan’s jam was genuinely a cut above the others. It’s sharper, almost as tart as gooseberry, or rhubarb, and you come away absolutely convinced that a raspberry featured somewhere in the production. Some reviewers have complained that it is runny. I think it’s fine and really very jammy, which puts you in mind of the duchess.Whether you should be selling it in a case as if it were an 18-year-old whiskey, in this economy, and in a country where jam usually comes layered in gobs atop peanut butter, is another question. But I think Meghan’s jam is a great success and possibly her biggest hit since the fifth season of Suits. She just needs to make a limited edition peanut spread and then her fellow Americans will feel that she is giving them enough for an entire sandwich.
Lucy Anna Gray: As Ever, Meghan surprises me
As someone who is not a particular jam-fan, I was more than pleasantly surprised by As Ever. Rather than the saccharine offerings I’m usually given, Meghan’s jam was flavoursome, verging on complex. The preserve tasted of wild fruits rather than processed ones, and didn’t leave seeds stuck in my teeth. The rest of the world has complained about its runniness, but I’m a princess and had my colleague spread the jam for me, so that was no issue. It is no match to lovingly homemade jams at country fares, or spreads simmered for hours on a French farm, but it is — as loathe as I am to admit it — worth $8 (no keepsake packaging for me, please).Andrea Blanco: It will look great on Instagram
When I was presented with a blind taste test of three jams, I liked Meghan’s raspberry spread the most. It’s tart, has a faint hint of sweetness to it and it was not too overwhelming to my unrefined, savoury-favouring palate. It’s not too slimy, not too watery. If I’m honest, I think I mainly liked what it tasted like in comparison to the two other brands — one was so ridiculously sweet I’m sure RFK Jr is actively plotting to have it removed from shelves, and the other tasted like nothing at all. I can’t say the As Ever spread will become a staple in my cupboard but maybe I’ll think about ordering it for a picnic with friends this summer. The pretty packaging and calligraphy on the jar do make for an aesthetically pleasing Instagram post.
LMAO, they got New York-based journalists to sit in a conference room and taste-test jams and ALL of them figured out which one was As Ever spread because it tasted better and it tasted more high-quality than other jams. All of them liked the taste too. I agree that you can taste the real raspberries and you can taste the citrus too, which cuts the sweetness. It’s a good spread! It is genuinely worth all of the hype.
I hate TheTimes but whatever they made a video of some people blindfolded to taste 3 different rasberry jams and Meghan's #AsEver raspberry jam is amongst them and to pick their favorite and reactions and all of them loved Meghan's jam ofc and picked it as their favorite jam ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JLGTx5xeik
— Selwa 🏽 سلوى (@w_selwa) April 9, 2025
Photos courtesy of Netflix, As Ever and Meghan’s IG.
For once a positive review. I think the Times see the UK press is trashing Meghan just to be trashing her and they want to appear fair.
They had to admit they liked the spread, but were all desperate to slag it if they could. I suppose these people have some limited integrity, but what kind of person starts from a position of dislike for someone they don’t know, never will know, and who has no interest in their puerile opinions. The sorrows of not being important for those newspaper nonentities.
I will forever be confused by the Meghan hate lol mostly because it comes with so much respect and admiration. Its clear from the reviews they reluctantly liked her jam and still found ways to be snarky about it. BUT during the taste test they all automatically assumed the best tasting jam was Meghan’s As Ever jam. They automatically assumed the quality product would be produced by Meghan. What kind of hate is that?? Its so weird to me that people associate hard work, success, quality, fashion, and good taste with Meghan while saying or writing hateful things about her. Hell one of the snarky writers outright said she wanted to hang out with her. I seriously will be forever confused about this type of hate.
“ Its so weird to me that people associate hard work, success, quality, fashion, and good taste with Meghan”
You nailed it. Love this its just the truth
They are obviously obsessed with her but they hate her because of her high standards. Then they are jealous and angry when she succeeds. It’s so crazy to me.
They hate the fact that they love and admire Meghan against their will.
The Times (of London) is the UK press, too, which is why this is so freaking brilliant! Love it. And this is how anyone should honestly review anything.
I wonder if their ridiculous Sussex agenda is starting to turn on them? As in have commercial implications – like advertising revenue? Perhaps this article is a subtle Sussex pivot … appearing “fair” while still including the bitchy comments? Or is that just naive and wishful thinking!!!!
I want to see some American reporters do a blind taste test of As Ever jam, storebought jam, and some of Cluck’s Duchy Originals’ swill.
If they want to have a Transatlantic jam war, do it properly.
Personally I don’t think Cluck’s jam has a chance, obviously his recipe will contain far too much salt…
Wow a taste test? Do they do this when Ina or Marta come out with new products? No. They wanted to not like it but couldn’t!!
RIGHT!!
My husband whines about Meghan regularly. He tasted it last night (knowing it was hers) and said “damn. That’s some good $hit.” 😛
Your husband whines about her regularly? Sounds like you’re married to a big baby
Wow — sounds like you can’t read humor.
@Bryn: You are not alone. I guess I missed the “humor” in whining about someone you don’t know who is just trying to live her life too.
Why would he “whine” about her??
You’d have to ask him that.
I couldn’t be married to someone who whines about Meghan constantly.
@AmyG oh I can read humour, I just expected humour would be funny ya know?
I’m surprised that Murdoch let this information out. Talk about Media obsessiveness. Why is it getting so much attention.
These journos knew they were reviewing Meghan’s jam so this blind test is a furphy. Who else would be associated with jam these past few months? My thoughts on each rat’s comment because this is still a very acerbic snarky article couched in “compliments” – it’s still a shit sandwich:
“Phyllis Akalin: It’s banging
Reader, I wanted to hate Meghan’s “spread””
WTF would you want to hate something because it’s from her? GTFO rat and go spread your salty unknown tears in West Germany.
“Lucy Anna Gray:…as loathe as I am to admit it — worth $8 (no keepsake packaging for me, please)”
She’s not losing sleep over you bitch.
Will Pavia: “ She just needs to make a limited edition peanut spread and then her fellow Americans will feel that she is giving them enough for an entire sandwich.”
Fuck your condescending bullshit.
Andrea Blanco: “The pretty packaging and calligraphy on the jar do make for an aesthetically pleasing Instagram post.”
Projecting your insecurities over your lack of talent and accomplishments isn’t her problem. So nice backhanded compliment there rat.
Glad to see their names are out there though – more rats for Harry’s list 🐀🐀🐀🐀
Yes. All of them had to have attitude and grudgingly give compliments. That shows it is good, because you know they were itching to say otherwise.
They were ready to label it a disaster.
Surprised they didn’t have Chuck’s produce as comparison. That would have been 😂
Thank you for listing all that, the taste test idea was fine but the nasty comments were uncalled for and just mean.
I hate how these rats write their articles. Anything that comes out of the British media – bar Byline Times – always has an anti-Sussex agenda.
This article is in no way a pivot from that agenda. It’s so unfair on how they demean and debase Meghan and their jam obsession is a continuation of that.
In West Germany? wth, there is no West Germany. and what even is that supposed to mean, someone doesn’t like something (which, they did!) and that means they have to move to a different country (that doesn’t exist anymore)? damn
How many times did these rats tell Meghan to go home to America?
She compared the jam to her west German grandparents’ berries – nostalgia – but hey, if you want to defend this rat who really wanted to hate her jam because it’s from her, then go for it.
“West Germany” is how you refer to the portion of current Germany that was the country of West Germany (vs. Soviet East Germany) prior to reunification in the 1990s. If she grew up visiting her grandparents (who may be deceased now) in the 80s or 90s (or earlier) she’d refer to it that way, as most journalists, biographers, and historians are trained to do (because anything happening before reunification took place in one country or the other, and the difference matters).
If you look at bios of people who were born, lived, or worked in Germany before reunification, it will usually say “West” or “East” to specify (or, “then-West” or “then-East”)
uhm, no. she didn’t refer to it as “West Germany” (she said “in suburban western Germany”), because that’s not how journalists or historians are trained to write about it. It is “former/then + West Germany/Federal Republic of Germany/FRG”. This is done specifically to make clear the end of the divided Germany. Just writing “West Germany” suggests it is an ongoing state. You’re right, Mario, the difference does matter, as does the historicity of the place, which is exactly why just West Germany is not used in the way you suggested – at least not in the first mention within a text.
But either way, I was just pointing out that “go spread your salty unknown tears in West Germany” is, at best, ignorant, unless time travel is invented. Because the country does not presently exist.
Lucy Anna Gray not only can’t spell (“country fare?” “loathe” when she means “loath?”), she knows absolutely nothing about making jam. If people in French farmhouses boiled jam for hours, they’d end up with burned, unpalatable sludge. Apparently Meghan’s jam makers boil this jam gently for 20-25 minutes to preserve its freshness, which is another reason why it’s runny.
Gray should try reading the River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin or Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber (both master jam makers) before attempting to style herself as a jam expert.
Except for Andrea Blanco all of them had to get in some anti-American and anti-Meghan comments. And keep saying it as jam when it is clearly not labeled as such. And for an organic, sustainably-produced product it is not expensive.
One of my FAVORITE movies is Albert Brooks/Debbie Reynolds movie “Mother” where they play Mother & Son & one of my FAVORITE scenes is when they’re grocery shopping together & Sonny wanted to buy some $12.00 high end jam & Depression era Mama drug him for absolute FILTH! But her Son stuck to his guns & got the jam he wanted! For YEARS I’ve been waiting on a fruit spread that would make me WANT to live out one of my favorite movie scenes…and thanks to Meghan Sussex…I CAN❣️😂😄
This is a good way to review her jam. It’s an honest review because you can’t say you don’t like it because it’s Meghan’s. I wish I was able to get the jam but it was sold out.
OMG, it is food, it isn’t that serious. These people are really giving unemployed energy. Someone should remind them that you don’t have to review everything she does. She isn’t even selling anything to UK.
Let’s face it, the industry is in its death throes so lots more unemployed rats around. They tend to jump from Murdoch journalist to political staffer – their rat years allow them to accumulate contacts and network so they become even bigger rats- this time with political power – in Westminster.
My family is having a hard time just not eating it from the jar LOL. Husband finally made some bread so we could at least eat it in a civilized fashion! I did buy two for this very reason. Didn’t want to love it and be worried I would run out! Hopefully there will be another drop before I start the second jar!
I’ve been eating from the jar a little too😂. Trying to be less of a heathen and use all the tips people were giving out yesterday.
I *finally* got mine yesterday in the late afternoon. Naturally, I had to open the jar IMMEDIATELY and taste a spoonful. SOOO GOOD! Guess what my dinner was? Lol. Yup, pb and Meg’s spread. I ended up having two slices lol. Glad I got two jars; was going to give my sister one, but now… it’s all MIIIIIIIIINE! 😊
I’m putting it on my yogurt in the morning, I definitely do not have bread in the house worthy of Meghan’s spread. Maybe I’ll get some croissants this weekend!
I mean, I guess?!! I don’t understand why they needed to do this, because they don’t even do this for other ” royal” releases. The cognitive dissonance they must have to constantly tell themselves to reconcile how they talk about Meghan versus how much coverage they give her.
Also I don’t understand the whole pricing complaint thing. It’s $8. You’ll spend more than $8 on a Subway meal deal, a movie ticket, a manicure, a bottle of wine, and so much more. Somehow though it’s too much money to buy a raspberry spread you can use 20 times for $8? It’s not one and done. Are they saying there’s nothing in their pantry or refrigerator that cost more than $1?
I’m surprised they told the truth and put this out to he public when they realized all the tasters were raving about the one they wanted to set up for failure.
They “needed” to do this for the clicks. Doing it as a bona fide blind taste test made it a fair comparison as opposed to being an obviously biased one. They probably had hoped doing it as a blind taste test would show that they weren’t trashing it just because they wanted to trash Meghan but the actual results showed that it was unanimous that all the tasters had a marked preference for 1 brand, and that brand was As Ever. It has a bigger impact because all wanted to hate on it and they thought the flavor and quality was so good they couldn’t.
If there weren’t an 8-year long history of them hating Meghan, I’d say this was a cute idea for a lifestyle article. A world-wide celebrity launches a product that sells out instantly – of course, people want to know how it tastes. I don’t have a problem with this piece – at least it has real content instead of plain venom.
The $14 was for the keepsake jam. It was less for just the jar. And with prices nowadays, no it was not obscenely expensive so that first reviewer was just trying to find a dig. But yeah the citrus in the jam is what makes it stand out. It tastes fresh if that makes sense. Anyways I hope it doesn’t take too long for more to be sold so everyone can try.
This ‘blind’ test reminds me of a wine test in France close to 50 years ago. A Californian wine won for the first time in history. An American wine, beating our outstanding French wines! The testers had to admit it, but nonetheless did it with as much nastiness as they could.
Excellent book on it – Judgement of Paris by George Taber
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89159.Judgment_of_Paris
@Blogger…THANK YOU 🙏🏾🥰 was JUST able to get the audiobook from my library
I loved the movie from this – Bottle Shock with Alan Rickman and Chris Pine.
@Lala enjoy! It was riveting when I first read it. Listening to the book while enjoying a glass of wine is entirely optional 😂🍷
Thanks for this! I have a bit of a drive coming up, and this audiobook sounds like just the thing to keep me occupied.
So much for Meghan being “irrelevant”. I’m not shocked that Meghan’s preserves tested so well but I am very shocked the Times even printed the story. It’s very clear they were expecting a different outcome.
This is why I side eyed the daily fail review. The said it was “too sweet” while all the expert reviewers here said the contrary. I honestly think the whole thing was a facade.
Right? That too sweet comment that was only ever said by the DM. It looks even sillier now.
The truth and the DM are strangers to each other.
@Normades
Remember that Daily Fail had a “review” ready a month before As ever was launched:)
Lol, It should be part of As Ever marketing – “Even haters love it!” Plus, a video of Rupert Murdoch tasting a spoonful and suddenly turning into a philanthropist.
InStyle had a very nice review a couple of days ago – same conclusion and with zero snark.
I think it’s completely crazy that 6! journalists testing products on a woman they have no intention of doing anything good for. It takes a blind test to avoid the kind of outlandish prejudices that usually flow easily from these people’s pens every time they see Meghan breathe.
I don’t understand why they asked their in-house journalists to blind-test this. Why not get proper people who are jam makers or jam experts to do it? I bet they asked but they all refused given their agenda 😏
💯🎯
As ever, whenever Meghan is judge fairly, she does well.
It is only in haters’ imaginations that she is a monster creating unpalatable products.
I sometimes wonder how many people have actually had raspberries because these women are unaware that raspberries are a fruit that veers toward tart, not sour and it is not as sweet as other fruits.
Gooseberries and blackberries are an entirely differently flavour too.
Anyway they cannot even try to pretend that the spread is bad.
I like sweet/tart stuff, I like my lemonade on the tart side too. So I bet I will like this jam when I get a chance to order some.
I haven’t received my As Ever order, it’s expected next Monday, but I’m super excited and I’m certain that the raspberry spread will be delicious!!
The Times is supposed to be read by the people who run the country, if all they are interested in is a spread that you can’t even buy in this country then our country needs help.
I am not a Meghan hater but I am not a stan like most on this site. I think Meghan and her husband showed courage in leaving the royal family, it’s hard to buck that much pressure to keep doing something. I also think the racist abuse against her is abhorrent. She had literal neo-Nazis threatening her life when she was in the UK.
All that to say, I wasn’t planning on buying anything from her brand. But I love jam and I think this stunt actually sold me on purchasing some when the next round goes on sale.
This has me cackling! I’m sure it was galling for them to admit that it tasted as good as it did.
As it doesn’t ship here to France, I’ll just enjoy my Marks and Spencer Seedless Raspberry confiture instead every now and then.
Isn’t the name brand “As ever” with a lower-case “ever”? I much prefer ” As Ever” because “As ever” is just confusing when used in a sentence. But thought Meghan uses “As ever.”
If we’re talking As ever products here, this is my report.
LOVE the shortbread cookies. I’m still getting compliments today, a day later. I’m so glad I bought a second box. I’m excited to make them again! Super easy to make, just mix and butter and sprinkles. Made a large amount of cookies from 1 box. As my toddler wasted a lot of the sprinkles that came in the box with his sprinkling (aka dumping) technique–I was glad to have the additional container. The flowers are beautiful and were much commented upon. I still have a lot left to use in other ways. Looking forward to reordering both.
I’m sitting at my computer trying to drink my first cup of the ginger/lemon tea and…it’s a no for me, dog. To me, the main problem with it is the licorice root extract. I HATE licorice and anything anise flavored (especially due to a bad reaction to absinthe in younger days). I’m not a fan of spearmint, either. I wish there was more lemon flavor–it’s lemongrass and lemon peel. I like the ginger a lot. So it’s a lovely tea–if you don’t mind the smell/taste of licorice and spearment. Packaging is great. It would make a great gift to a tea lover who likes those particular flavors. I don’t know if the blend of flavors is off for me, or if I’m just really, really sensitive to licorice and spearmint. I might post my reaction to the website as feedback if I can.
No place to leave feedback as of yet–I get it. They don’t want hate spammers clogging up their system.
Thanks for this. I like ginger and lemon, but absolutely hate licorice and anise. It would have been an unwelcome surprise because the website doesn’t describe the tea that way.
Yes–I wouldn’t have bought it either. It’s too strong a flavor not to mention it.
@lanne – there’s an email address in the FAQ section of the website. Maybe a suggestion that they include all the ingredients in the product descriptions?
I ended up leaving a comment on the As ever site. I also mentioned that I was part of an online community of Meghan supporters who have been rooting for her and who want to support her as she builds her life with her family here in the US. I asked if they could mention the anise flavoring in future promotions and perhaps make another non anise version if it’s possible down the road. Also told them how much I loved the cookies and I’m looking forward to ordering again.
Thanks! I was worried about this with the team and why I decided to wait.
I get people need to add As Ever products in the shopping cart and check out ASAP to get items before them were sold out, so might not read the product information fully. But on the product page, under Ingredients, it did list all the ingredients: “Organic Ginger Pieces, Organic Lemongrass, Organic Lemon Peel, Organic Licorice Root, Organic Spearmint.”
I always drink ginger tea without any sugar or honey, but I also know a lot of people feel ginger to be too “spicy”, so adding licorice root is the organic way to add sweet note into the tea.
This review and their comments confirms what I said yesterday and what I have always seen and believed. Their hatred of Meghan has nothing to do with who she is or what she does but who they are as self entitled people who need her to be mean, hateful and unsuccessful. Her haters always display an attitude or approach that is more of what they want her to be, while Meghan continues to be the nice, supportive and helpful person she has always been. They call her a bully while name calling and bullying her and anyone who supports her. They call her a liar while lying about what she says or does. They call her lazy while spending their time behind unproductive. Their comments about her are always a reflection of who they are and this review shows once again that their hate has more to do with them instead of Meghan.
It’s not, “I hate her because she’s a bad person.”
It’s “I hate her, therefore she’s a bad person.”
None of the behaviors they attribute to her have ever been seen. She’s not a diva, she doesn’t care about being a princess or curtsying or royal hierarchy. She doesn’t mistreat people. She’s not the “real housewife” designer-obsessed tacky broad they want her to be.
I’ll argue that even their fake “Meghan the bully” slander shows their utter lack of imagination and lack of observable reality. They talk about her clacking in heels yelling at subordinates, ideas straight out of the TV show Dynasty in 1982. It’s an utterly cartoonish caricature that’s insulting to women period.
This 100%. 🎯
Hahahahahaha. I wonder if Charles’ jam was one of the competing jams in their blind taste test?
They really didn’t want to like it but it tastes too good to lie about I guess. Still shady and snarky. As for the person saying $14 is too expensive, they could just buy the jar without the fancy gift box for $9. I wonder what type of product they thought she’d put out that they were so pleasantly surprised at the taste and quality. The most scrutinized jam/spread/preserves in the world is also delicious. Stop the presses!
I didn’t get any jam because while I successfully added it to the cart, I went back for more shopping and it changed (very quickly because I was NOT dawdling) to ‘sold out’. The million dollar question: are they going to RE-STOCK ? -?? I mean, before the autumn drop?
It does give the game away when they’re all “but we really, really wanted to hate it, and her, and we still hate her, so much, but the so-called jam is actually not disgusting, damn it.” And they just assume their readers are equally on board with their mean girl anger. It must be exhausting to be this hateful.
(I missed this drop entirely but I’m hoping for a strawberry jam drop. Putting that out in the universe, fingers crossed.)
Not even a jam person but I did buy some. I put it in plain Greek yogurt with a dash of flower sprinkles on top 🤩 It was sublime.
I feel like I need to find a very high quality bread if I’m going to have it as part of a sandwich.
“Reader, I wanted to hate Meghan’s “spread”, but it was banging. ”
Honestly, this comment makes me sick. What a bitter, horrible person.
They are mentally crazy like Trump.