On Friday, I purchased two jars of apricot jam/spread from As Ever. The Duchess of Sussex has a gift for jam-making, if her raspberry spread was any indication. I’m looking forward to receiving the apricot spread. Within a few minutes of ordering, I received an email saying that my As Ever package would arrive in a week. I doubt anyone has already received their AE packages from their Friday orders. And yet, the Daily Mail wants to convince people that they know people who already have the apricot spread. Magic! Not only does some “champion jam-maker” already have the apricot jam, she magically provided some nasty comments about the product to the Mail:
The Duchess of Sussex may have set the tills ringing with the latest ‘As Ever’ merchandise, but her new apricot spread has been savaged by critics – within hours of going on sale.
Champion jam-maker Donna Collins said: ‘It’s a real disappointment that Meghan is selling a fruit spread, which is what you make when your jam fails. In the jam industry a spread is what we call something that didn’t work. It can have the best ingredients, but if I had a jam that was too runny, I’d slap a label on it and call it a spread. There’s no excuse for this. It should be perfect.’
Ms Collins, who owns Jelly Queens jam company and has won more than 40 world championship honours in jam-making competitions, also queried the ingredients in Meghan’s spread. The jars, sold in keepsake packaging for £10 or plain for £7, list conventionally grown apricots, dried organic apricots, organic pure cane sugar and fruit pectin.
‘Why should she include conventionally grown apricots, which will have used pesticides?’ said Ms Collins. ‘And why is she using pectin, which is a gelling agent, unless it’s because her spread was too runny? Most spreads don’t use pectin.’
Ms Collins added: ‘Her apricot spread sold out in minutes, just like her earlier raspberry spread, which may mean they only made a small batch. I don’t know who’s making her spread, but we all know it’s not Meghan. It sounds like they really don’t know what they are doing.’
Maureen Foley, owner of Red Hen Cannery near Montecito, said she suspected Meghan wanted to make a spread to take advantage of marketing opportunities. ‘She may be smart trying to fill a niche,’ said Ms Foley. ‘Spreads can be sweet or savoury, and used on dishes for all meals, so perhaps it’s just clever marketing.’
I read this as a huffy tantrum from the Mail, not from whatever “champion jam maker” they dug up. The British tabloids did the same thing back in April with the raspberry spread – they looked for any angle they could find to say that the spread was terrible and that people were disappointed with this or that. They missed the fact that everyone who actually tried the spread really loved it, even the blind taste-testers at the Times of London. In any case, “The Jelly Queens” Instagram – which seems to be the account of Donna Collins – has now posted a denial that they said any of this to the Mail. Would the Mail completely falsify a jam-queen’s quotes? Or did Donna Collins realize too late that she came across really poorly?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, As Ever’s IG, Jelly Queen’s IG.
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- Whistler, CANADA – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were seen at the One Year to Go Event, a significant milestone leading up to the Invictus Games. These games are an international adaptive multi-sport event, created by Prince Harry, which bring together wounded, injured, or sick armed services personnel and veterans to compete in various sports. The event serves as a celebration of the strength and resilience of these individuals, providing a platform for them to showcase their abilities and inspire others. Pictured: Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 15 FEBRUARY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Meghan specifically said its not jam because jam requires equal sugar /fruit. Duh. I’ve made spread over the last 30 years. Someone who makes it would be silly to say that stuff. I’ve never actually made jam because I’m not a sweet tooth.
It’s hard to believe that Donna would say that spread is failed jam but hatred does funny things to people. Donna must know that jam and spread each have their place, with spread being more versatile. No end to these bitter-Bettys and no end to the salty island’s obsession with someone who left years ago and does not give them a second thought.
She knows (I don’t know who she is). But racism, jealousy and mioginoir are a strong cocktail. Many of us grew up making either jams or spreads. That’s just bogus. I hope she suffers for that crap. She deserves it. That’s all I want for all these losers
Why do all of Meghan’s critics look the same……pale and stale
Wow, you are not kidding!! Amazing how bitter seeps through the skin and gives one the face one deserves.
Exactly! You make or buy fruit spread instead of jam when you want to cut back on sugar.
You expect the nastiness from the Daily Mail, their readers, journalists and anyone they quote. The Jam maker just shamed herself by even taking their call.
Did the dm pay her I wonder
the check hasn’t cleared so she is trying to back track and wants to collaborate now
It is possible that she said nothing and the DM made it all up. If they did I hope she sues.
But remember that smelly ‘chef’ who criticised everything about Ms show and also said Netflix wanted him for her show and also he never watched it? And never bathed? So that’s where these sad sack RR are. Dealing with the addicts and the delusional and the ones in some kind of hospital.
No one has received their spread yet so I don’t know how this woman even got her hands on a jar of #AsEver apricot spread. She ran her mouth to the Fail and they took the usual liberty of using her to smear Meghan. Now she is lobbying to team up with Meghan. The colossal nerve of the woman; trying to use Meghan for self promotion. She may have been misquoted just like Thomas Markle was, but she certainly said something the Fail could twist.
Where does the dm find these people. This person sounds bitter. I am not buying collins jam
They trawl through public forums, Facebook posts etc and pretend that they were interviewed by the Fail.
She realized it to late it’s bad for business to talk to the daily mail. I read her bio and she is the season 2 winner of Masterchef. Starting in 2014 she was World Jampionships Winner and has won many more since. It’s not hard for to see how the DM found her. I hate to lump everyone in Texas as Maga because I know it’s not true but the DM probably thought she’s perfect for the job.
Yes in her super supportive response about Meghan she doesn’t really address what the DM claims she said. She just made the comment ‘Of course we all know how much truth there is in the tabloids’
It could be they took advantage of her and twisted what she said. She talked with them because she is an expert at jam and the statements she made were just general statements about jam and she wasn’t even referring to Meghan she may not have even known the article was going to be about Meghan.
Or she is a maga, jealous hating Meghan hag who didn’t realize she was going to do more damage than good to her business and is now backtracking.
Since I don’t know her I’m not going to guess which one and since I will never be in Texas I wouldn’t support her business anyway.
Jennifer Behn won Masterchef season 2. Donna Collins was not one of the contestants, but her website bio is written to make it seem she was more involved with Masterchef than she was. She was one of the 100 who competed for a place on the show, but didn’t make it. She says that by the end of the show friendships were formed – but they couldn’t have been formed with her because she wasn’t on the show.
Someone said she was liking negative comments about Meghan. I now see she has limited her comments on IG.
Oh wow, @Eurydice you mean ol’ Donna tried to “sweeten” her bio, lol? These folks will never learn that in the age of the internet the truth will tell. And to “review” something she’s never even tasted? How dumb.
Hospital. That’s my new opinion. They seem to be people with issues.
I completely agree with going to hospital for something we’ve all needed help. I think the RR prey on people who need help.
I do LOVE when the DM totally gives away their game.
When they react to something before it exists- and they do it with specificity and rage.
They literally write fiction and will apply it to the situation when it happens.
No, of course today’s crazy Duchess hater hasn’t *actually* tasted the preserves.
It kind of takes the air out of their sails that they have an predetermined position/opinion based on what they hope happens.
I also love that in the blind taste test, everyone loved the Duchess’ raspberry preserves.
My jar is getting low- i did notice it was the only thing on her site that said “coming soon” and stayed that way all through the sale.
I hope it restocks when the wine hits in July.
Nah, too late. The jelly queen showed her ass and was probably shocked at how fast the Sussex Squad came for her. I really can’t imagine the Daily Fail – who typically only quotes ‘insiders/friends/royal sources’ would attribute completely false (long, detailed) quotes to this woman if she hadn’t said these things. Maybe she thought she was just talking to some rando on the internet, but I don’t believe her denial. And if she really didn’t say it, then she should be demanding a retraction or she should sue them.
It’s also interesting how many women who claim to support and uplift women go after Meghan. It’s okay, we see you.
No they can’t fake quotes. That’s one of the few things they can be sued for. She absolutely said it. Sucks to be her. The reason they use obfuscating language re royals is to protect them from law suits. If she’s quoted, she said it. The insiders blah is so they can lie because there’s no proof. That’s how the British media work
I think she said it. I tried to post on her ig page slagging off daily mail and she did not allow the post. However any post that didn’t contain the word daily mail, she acknowledged. I gave her the benefit of doubt, but I think she is dodgy and wants the publicity at the expense of Meghan Sussex
If Donna didn’t say it, then she should sue the Fail. She’s going to get a whole lot of nasty.
The Fail has a history of lying and making up quotes so if the Fail quoted her because of some public post she made then Donna’s going to have suck this one up. Or sue them.
She is not going to sue the fail, b/c she did say those things.
Oh well! What’s new? The Dailyfail doing what they do daily, lie.
Where would the jam maker get an advance bottle of the preserve from? If she said it, someone must have warned that she was going to get swamp with not so nice reviews.
She hasn’t actually tasted it. Comments were based on the ingredients list and her apparent downer on spreads. Perhaps she has a sweet tooth? What a foolish, foolish woman.
Maybe they didn’t tell her it was Meghan’s.
lol they just can’t help themselves even when they look like fools in the end.. my money is on Meghan and her products especially after tasting a few.
I find this article kind of hilarious, ngl. Like damn they went out and found a hating-ass jam maker to throw jam shade lmao. Truly an ultra niche beef cooked up by the DM.
She probably realized that her criticism sounded stupid and envious, especially when no one has tasted the apricot spread. Or it could be a situation like Pat Tillman’s mother where they reached out to this person and got them to say some incendiary things by leading them on and then they realized what an asshole they sounded like after the fact.
Either way it’s a stupid criticism. If the spread is terrible people will stop buying it. That’s how the free market works. Some of Meghan’s most dedicated fans would still buy it even if it was horrific, but the average person no matter how much they like Meghan aren’t going to buy something that’s nasty, just like people didn’t watch HOI or Polo or listen to the podcasts if they weren’t interested.
Daily Mail is just trying to explain to the hate groups in their comments how they’ve been telling them for years and years that all Americans hate Meghan, and that she’s met with boos and hisses when she leaves the house, and yet her stuff keeps selling out. They also want to set it up to be a failure so that they can write referential articles for months from now about how it was hated, the same way that they do about her podcast and With Love Meghan. Referencing review bombing in the British media, but not the viewing numbers and social media trends that it inspired
Exactly, the free market will sort out whether her spreads or jams or whatever are good enough. For example, I am a big Meghan fan. I probably would have bought “something” this go-around just to support her. but the reason I bought three teas and the apricot spread was bc I loved the tea I got last time (I only managed to snag the peppermint last time but this time got all three) and I LOVE that raspberry spread so want to try the apricot.
If the product had been bad, i would not have bought 4 items this time around. I would have bought something, but if that had been bad I might not have bought anything the next go around.
I never heard of this woman. She just damaged her reputation with tjat cheap shot at and I don’t think she has the funds to sue the Fail. Take the L dear.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever read: “said she suspected Meghan wanted to make a spread to take advantage of marketing opportunities. ‘She may be smart trying to fill a niche,’ said Ms Foley. ‘Spreads can be sweet or savoury, and used on dishes for all meals, so perhaps it’s just clever marketing.”
It’s apricot jam. People like apricot jam. She is selling apricot jam.
The Daily Mail devoted an entire article to one woman’s apricot jam. Insane.
They always write Meghan doing basic business stuff as if it’s somehow conniving and nefarious. She’s using her Instagram to market her products! She’s going on these talk shows so you’ll pay attention to and watch her TV show! She’s sending emails to her subscriber list telling them when her products are going to go on sale so that they can buy it!
The constant attacks on Meghan and her spread are certainly going to encourage some to try it to see for themselves.
I suspect the interviewer’s question was something like, “Why would someone choose to call their product a ‘spread’ rather than a ‘jam’?” In which case, the response Ms. Foley gave sounds fairly neutral. But putting that quote from Foley right after the nasty comments by the “jam queen” makes it sound negative by association.
@OriginalMich,
I didn’t see Ms Foley’s comment as a negative. The Donna lady, yes, but Ms Foley seemed to think it was a good marketing strategy for the spread. And it isn’t jam. It is a spread. They are different things. MM makes a spread, not a jam. It says so on the bottle.
The consistency of jam/spread depends on how much sugar you use, how long you cook it and how much pectin is in the fruit. If you’re looking to achieve a fresh fruit taste without too much sweetness, then you have to add some pectin to help the jam set up. A champion jam maker should know that.
I don’t know how Maureen Foley crept into the conversation at the end. She makes jam and sells it at farmers’ markets – on her site the jam sells for $12 a jar and it’s sold out.
MAureen Foley doesn’t even say anything especially bad. Its like the Mail was trying to get someone in Montecito to badmouth Meghan and instead she’s just like well she’s marketing it well.
I know, it’s so random to just stick Maureen at the end of the piece, like “we have these quotes we don’t know what to do with.” In her interview, Meghan said she started out thinking she’d sell jam at farmers’ markets and it looks like this is what Maureen is doing.
If she says she never said it, my guess is that they asked her about jams vs spreads and didn’t say that they were talking about Meghan’s specifically.
On the other hand every “champion jam maker” (or cake baker or quilter or knitter) that I’ve known has incredibly precise thoughts on the subject of their discipline and will tell you about them, at length, without you even asking.
If they quoted her correctly then she had to know it was MM because the attributed quotes say Meghan’s name a number of times.
This Mail article seemed questionable to me from the get-go considering it never seems to explicitly state that this woman was even speaking to them directly in any way (usually it’s “our reporter sat down with such and such” or something).
Anyway she’s come out and flat-out said they were lying, and in two statements complimented Meghan, so, yeah.
Sort of thing that the Mail is known for.
Does this lady need publicity or did she fall into DM’s trap? Her reaction on Instagram suggests the later. By now people should know that they are weaponized by the DM against Meghan.
As a home jam maker pectin is widely used in jam making especially for fruit which do not have natural pectin and also to decrease the amount of sugar being used. Because Meghan does not use the one to one ratio of equal amount of sugar to equal amount of fruit she cannot call it jam. Jam also can be quite thick and I understand that Meghan wants a more spreadable spread.
I agree with the last lady that the use of the word spread or indeed preserve indicates that you can use it more widely, savory or sweet dishes.
She doesn’t actually say she never spoke to the DM from what I can tell. Rule of thumb, never speak to the DM. Ever. And honestly, shouldn’t a lot more people know that. Like come on. And of course Meghan is not hand-making every jar of jam but it is her recipe and I’m certain she’s doing a lot of on-site testing as she scales up her product. Anyways, this story of the jam-maker slamming Meghan has already been picked up by other outlets regardless of her insta rebuttal. Moral of the story, don’t talk to the DM. Ever.
Sorry. Meant to add. She says she did not criticize Meghan to the DM. It doesn’t mean she didn’t speak to them and her words were then twisted. But her insta rebuttal was complimentary. Damage control? Maybe she can try Meghan’s jam/spread when it actually arrives.
I ordered the honey, tea, and sprinkles at 11:03 AM on Friday lol. I got an email this morning stating my products would arrive today! My Shop app confirmed it. So shipping is quicker this time but I don’t think anyone got their products over the weekend. She can review the recipe/ingredients all she wants but as a “champion jam maker” she’s just snobbish about spreads and that came out clearly.
Anyone who sits down with any UK media outlet is lacking in integrity and possibly brain cells; expecting any interview to be repeated verbatim and then acting all poor me when it gets twisted and there’s pushback gets a huge side eye and no sympathy from me whatsoever
I’m going to assume that the Champion Jam maker was asked about Meghan’s spreads and she didn’t like that she came off bitchy in the article.
I’m not really a jam or jelly person but I will eat anything apricot. This is kind of hilarious to me because….who cares? Not trying to shade anyone’s genuine expertise in this area, it just seems like a tasty apricot spread (or jam, jelly, preserves) is just the thing to go on peanut butter toast or a biscuit regardless. I’ll eat any of them.
Is this stuff regulated over in England? Because I don’t think it is in the States, at least not tightly. You buy what looks about right, and if you don’t care for it you try another brand next time. Maybe you research the ingredients a little more closely, or check reviews online or ask a friend for recs. Maybe you try making your own.
I don’t know. Someone getting their panties in a twist over apricot jam just strikes me as the height of silly. It’s giving Ministry Of Silly Walks. Is there a Ministry Of Jams, Jellies, and Compotes in the UK? Who’s in charge? I want to hear from them!
Yes, the making of jams, jellies, & preserves/spreads is regulated in the US. They’re covered under 21 CFR 140, 21 CFR 150, & 21 CFR 160. Those are the regulations that define how you can use each of those terms. The FDA regulates the safety of commercially sold products.
Stone fruit do not naturally have much pectin which is why it must be added. I thought this critic was an expert?
This is similar to the last launch when they tried to get every hater to disparage her spread but actual taste tests said otherwise. Are they going to do this every time there’s a product drop? Also, what is with saying Meghan doesn’t make the jam herself? In many of her podcast episodes, she talks about scaling up and replicating the taste and quality she makes at home for manufacturing. This seems just silly. Why not just get Smuckers on the phone next to talk about how many more units they sell daily or never run out of inventory . This article is pointless.Looking forward to getting my apricot spread.
I am enjoying seeing Meghan thrive in her Entrepreneurial Era. The joy is palpable.
Royal life stole her joy, but thankfully she move away from the toxicity. Now her joy is back and despite the British establishment’s continued efforts, she continues to rise day by day as an entrepreneur. You go Meghan, spread your joy, let it agitate the demons. 😂
Good lort. The left behinds are jealous bitter little c#nts and the rota are desperate for any Sussex copy. The Sussexes left 5 and a half years ago. So much for the left behinds keeping calm and carrying on when they continue to plant desperate garbage like this in the tabloids. Keener can’t sit and wave at 3 events in 5 days, so Meghan has to be torn down to cover despite leaving years ago. How many years do the Windsors plan to use Harry and Meghan as their scapegoats to cover for Willy and Keener?
I kind of believe the expert answered some questions about the difference between jam and spread and the toxic press did the rest. Ms. Collins is an entrepreneur like Meghan and she understand that good business is not trashing publicly another entrepreneur.
Her apology sounded passive-aggressive, subtly so, to me. But, her name is out there and maybe that helps her business? I believe in benefit of the doubt with the daily fail. But, currently I have only one purveyor of fruit spread, Donna. lol. I can’t wait for my order, but I didn’t get the honey. Still feel lucky, though.
Of course the DM made up the criticism of new apricot spread.
Jam is made for toast. Spread can be used to top pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and a warm bowl of bread pudding. Apricot spread on bread pudding. Can you imagine? And I did not get any.
“Maureen Foley, owner of Red Hen Cannery near Montecito, said she suspected Meghan wanted to make a spread to take advantage of marketing opportunities. ‘She may be smart trying to fill a niche,’ said Ms Foley. ‘Spreads can be sweet or savoury, and used on dishes for all meals, so perhaps it’s just clever marketing.’”
— What??
I think what Foley is saying is that here in the US people are more likely to associate jam with toast or breakfast foods. Whereas a spread is more versatile and could be used with other meals. So in a convoluted way she was complementing Meghan for trying to widen the appeal of her product. Unlike that first cow who just wanted to throw a dagger at Meghan. Looks like it bounced back and got Ol’ Donna instead. Kind of like Brooke Shields , lol.
Isn’t it true that the duchess is not selling anything in England? So how did they find this non-existent British cow to make nasty comments about jam, of all things? Bat shit crazy.
Hi wonder if DM took quotes from more than one person and sort of cleverly mashed them together to suggest the jam expert said it all. My reasoning is that a jam expert should know that with apricots you have to use pectin or something similar or it won’t jell. It’s a low pectin fruit. I haven’t made it since I was a girl but we had apricot trees when I was growing up and I made plenty of jam back then. Raspberries however are a high pectin fruit so you don’t need it for raspberry jam. The lower sugar spr ad might need it though. Could the comments have been made then and then the DM brought them out for the new release?