The Duchess of Sussex has launched a marmalade, along with shortbread and apricot spread. She’s showing signs of improvement
August 26 was a big day for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Besides dropping series 2 of her Netflix show With Love, Meghan, she also added a new product to her growing As Ever collection: orange marmalade. Described on the brand’s site as “our rendition of a teatime classic”, the citrus preserves cost $9 (£6.65) per jar, or $14 if you want it housed in fancy “keepsake packaging”.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex in her Netflix lifestyle show, which was renewed for a second series (Photo: Netflix)
While Meghan’s last drop, a Napa Valley rosé, was a sensible addition to the Californian’s lifestyle range, marmalade seems like an unusual choice. It’s such a British staple and not quite as popular in the United States. But speaking as an American, marmalade is my jam. I always keep a jar in my fridge, and stock up on different varieties from Fortnum & Mason whenever I visit London.
Though I found As Ever’s apricot spread to be too tangy and extremely runny, I felt that as the self-proclaimed Paddington of New York City, I needed Meghan’s marmalade. So as soon as it went on sale, I added a jar to my cart, along with a $14 box of the constantly sold out shortbread mix.
About a week later, my package arrived, looking as if my mail carrier had sat on it (maybe he needed a rest). The shortbread box was pretty bashed, but thankfully the marmalade jar wasn’t broken. When I twisted off the lid, the scent was a pleasant mix of perfumey orange rind and fresh orange juice. As Ever calls the marmalade “golden and fragrant, with a lively zest that lingers and a refined sweetness” – I’d say it’s definitely sweet, but not very zesty. It’s also more loose and less gelled than any marmalade I’ve ever bought. I enjoyed the citrus flavour and bits of rind, but when I spooned the marmalade onto a croissant, it was a little too juicy.
As Ever’s orange marmalade is described as golden and fragrant
Next, I made Meghan’s famous shortbread with her signature flower sprinkles. According to the instructions on the back of my dented box, two sticks of butter were the only ingredients required. So I whipped the butter, added the shortbread mix, folded in the flower sprinkles… and things got a bit unclear from there.
Let me preface this by saying that I’ve made delicious rosemary shortbread from scratch – not a mix – numerous times and found it to be ridiculously easy with the proper instructions. But As Ever’s instructions seemed a little vague. The next step after mixing is to “roll dough on a floured surface and form into a log”. Am I rolling the dough flat with a pin and then forming a log? Or using my hands to roll the dough into a log shape? And how long should said log be?
Confused, I rolled the dough flat with a pin until it was a large rectangle. Then, realizing I must be wrong, I smushed it up into the longest log you’ve ever seen.
After refrigerating the dough, I sliced off discs and baked them for nine minutes, as instructed. I used an oven thermometer to ensure the temperature was accurate but noticed the bottoms of the cookies turning brown while the tops remained pale. Though they could have used more time in the oven, I took the cookies out as soon as the time was up so they didn’t burn.
Ultimately, the shortbread cookies were really tasty. They were buttery, not too sweet, and a little salty. The texture wasn’t bad, considering that the tops could have cooked a bit more, and while the flower sprinkles didn’t add flavour, they were a nice decorative touch.
Jennifer Myers-Pulidore put As Ever’s latest offerings to the test (Photo: supplied)
Overall, both products were better than I expected, but I still wanted an expert opinion. For that, I turned to the folks at Myers of Keswick, New York City’s oldest British grocery store. Opened by Englishman Peter Myers in 1985, the shop is now owned by his daughter, Jennifer Myers-Pulidore. Since Pulidore and her staff are no strangers to marmalade and shortbread, I took those items, plus As Ever’s apricot spread and orange blossom honey, to the shop for a tasting.
“This is like baby food,” Pulidore said of the puree-like apricot preserves. “Is she going for a chutney? It needs thickness.” Myers of Keswick social media manager Terri Gaffney, who hails from Dundee, Scotland, agreed. “That would go through your toast,” Gaffney said. “But it would be great in a bellini, to cut through the champagne.”
As Ever’s marmalade fared slightly better. “It has a nice bite to it,” said Pulidore. “It has nice pieces of orange peel.” But once again, texture was an issue. “It needs to be thicker in the overall consistency,” Pulidore said. “I don’t dislike it, but I don’t think of it as a true marmalade.”
Both Pulidore and Gaffney liked the taste of the orange blossom honey but felt that its light flavour could easily get lost when added to food or drinks. Gaffney suggested pairing the honey with porridge or something not too strong to keep it from getting diluted.
Despite my many mishaps, the shortbread turned out to be a winner. “I don’t mind the cookies,” said Pulidore, who noticed that they were a bit undercooked (my fault, not Meghan’s). But she added: “It is buttery, which you want a good shortbread to be. Of all the products, this might be something I’d stock in the store.” Gaffney liked the taste and thought the cookies had a nice snap to them, but she also pointed out that shortbread doesn’t typically turn brown, so perhaps the mix needed a little less butter.
As someone who’s sampled several of Meghan’s products now, I’d say that yes, the Duchess still has some work to do. However, each new launch has shown signs of improvement. Am I giving up on As Ever? As if!