Meghan Mocked For Her New Christmas Recipe

Meghan Markle has been mocked for yet another cooking blunder after sharing a recipe for 'mulled water', Daily Mail reports.

In her latest Instagram clip, the Duchess of Sussex, 44, revealed how she uses the $16 Spiced Cider Mulling Spice Kit from her lifestyle brand, As Ever, to create a 'really cosy warm beverage that everyone can enjoy'.

 

Meghan Markle explained how she brings a large pot of water to the boil, takes it off the heat and adds her spice kit to steep. 

After ladling the brew into glasses, she drops in cinnamon sticks, lemon and a teaspoon of her brand's $28 honey to 'embolden the flavours'.

Meghan Markle explained that home cooks could 'add a spirit of choice to make it a little bit more grown up,' but said that the drink is 'the most soothing' without the addition of alcohol, 'especially in the cold weather'.

 

Fans were baffled by the recipe and accused the former actress of effectively making a pot of 'mulled water', with one likening it to 'air freshener in mugs'.

In a post shared to X, one commenter wrote: 'If I’m not mistaken, Meghan Markle just made mulled water? Wouldn’t you add the spices to apple cider? Or wine? Not WATER?' 

Another critic likened Megan's beverage to the 'simmer pot' that real estate agents put on the stove to make houses smell lovely during viewings.  

'Never seen 'em serve it up in a mug though!' they added.

A third said: 'Looks like she was making a spicy tea because she has no idea of what she is really doing. Madame Fake-It-Till-You-Make-It-Montecito.'

Another remarked: 'She creates a simmer pot and then serves it to guests as a beverage. 

'Mulling spices are meant to augment a hot beverage like cider, wine, coffee, or tea. But then again, what should we expect from the person labelling tisanes as tea.'

'Keep in mind this is the same woman who was “teaching” us how to can food while holding the canning tongs upside down. 

This is not a hot toddy; it is what the rest of us use as potpourri for scenting our homes,' another commented.

As part of the collection released last week, Meghan's brand, As Ever, included a hot toddy and mulled cider spice kit. 

The hot toddy kit comes in a 43g bag and contains eight servings. The product is described on the As Ever website as a 'holiday entertaining essential' with a powerful aroma that will 'inspire conversation'. 

The product comes in a muslin bag containing a spice blend of organic cinnamon, lemongrass, lemon peel and ginger root. 

The description reads: 'Ladled in a mug or poured in a punch glass with your favourite spirit, our take on the classic hot toddy adds a sip of nostalgia to any gathering. 

'The warm, inviting aroma alone makes this blend a holiday entertaining essential: Slowly simmer a batch on the stove and let the aromatic cinnamon, lemongrass, citrus peel, and ginger root fill your kitchen—an easy way to gather guests and inspire conversation.'

'Or, enjoy Meghan’s favourite way: in good company with the ones you love, one mug at a time.'

Alongside the listing, Meghan Markle has included three 'tips for enjoyment' her 'favourite way'. 

Firstly, offering advice on how to 'jazz up' the drink, the website suggested serving in 'vintage mugs' with cinnamon sticks, sliced fruit, and a selection of spirits.

Elsewhere, she offered an alternative for how to enjoy alcohol-free. 'Steep a few sachets in a vintage canteen and share aprés ski, alfresco around a fire, or on a chilly tree-scouting adventure,' the website advised.

Finally, she recommended sipping alongside a film. The website read: 'Movie night is sweeter with all the essentials: buttery homemade popcorn, a stack of soft blankets, and a big batch of hot toddies simmering in the kitchen. 

It's not the first of Meghan's cooking mishaps. When the Duchess released her first cookery show earlier this year, she promised to 'elevate the ordinary' with a series of culinary tips inspired by her experiments in her Montecito mansion.

​Instead, she left viewers scratching their heads with a series of 'lacklustre' recipes, unorthodox methods, and a pasta dish that sparked fury amongst Italians.

​She attracted swathes of criticism earlier this month after a photoshoot for her lifestyle website, As Ever, appeared to show Meghan holding a piece of jam-making equipment the wrong way round.

Meghan's pricey jams are said to be 'inspired by the recipe she crafted in her home kitchen', as per her website.

But eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out that Meghan appeared to be holding her equipment 'upside down'.

In one photo, the Duchess appeared to be holding the curved end of the lifter, which is specially shaped for lifting jars, instead of the black rubber handles.

Several royal fans claimed that Meghan's use of the clamp implied inexperience in the world of jam-making, despite the Duchess previously declaring that 'jam is my jam' and releasing her raspberry spread as her first-ever product.

Her long-awaited cooking show, With Love, Meghan, was also met with a wave of winces as viewers struggled to get their heads around some of the Duchess's bizarre recipes and her often unorthodox approach.

In the first episode, featuring her close friend, make-up artist Daniel Martin, Meghan is seen tackling a dish called 'skillet spaghetti,' which she tells viewers she regularly cooks for Prince Harry and their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.

While there was no expense spared in the utensils, which included a pricey Le Creuset dish, beloved of the middle classes on both sides of the Pond, and a cooker that's thought to have cost a real pretty penny, Italian's were left shaking in their boots by the end of the scene.

Although Italians would usually submerge pasta in a large pan of salted, boiling water, Meghan's approach deviated from the modus operandi, as she seemed to simply pour 'three cups' of boiling water straight into the spaghetti.

Furious pasta purists flocked to the comments with a combination of shock and disgust. 'Netflix paid a lot of money just to let us know Meghan Markle doesn't know how to cook pasta,' one person snarked.

The recipe sparked no end of frustration from viewers, who were similarly perturbed by the Americanisation of Italian ingredients.

Rather than calling spaghetti by its name - or simply pasta - she controversially referred to it as 'noodles', later adding fuel to the flame by pronouncing Parmigiana in the American way as 'Parmigian'.

Elsewhere, fans questioned the extent of her cooking skills after the first season of her Netflix show aired in March.

Many were left baffled by how she appeared to hold a knife. Taking to X, one shared a snap of the Duchess chopping away at some produce.

'Why is Meghan Markle holding the knife like that?' they questioned. 'This woman hasn't cooked much has she?'

Netflix viewers were also left 'disgusted' by Meghan's chicken storage in her Netflix show, but a closer look called their criticisms into question.

At one point, the mother-of-two opened the fridge to reveal a row of what viewers believed were raw chicken legs lying on a shelf, right next to salad leaves, prompting questions about why the poultry wasn't covered or stored separately in a container in comments on X.

The scene was first shared online by X user, who captioned the clip: 'Why has #MeghanMarkle [kept] raw chicken legs in the fridge next to the salad?' As well as cooking, Meghan has also shown her love of baking, especially since returning to Instagram in January.

One viewer added it was 'disgusting' that the meat was 'just sitting on the glass shelf' while another said: 'Oh damn. This reiterates what we all know. She knows NOTHING about food prep.

Reacting to the perceived faux-pas, one social media user shared: 'Yikes! Everything is contaminated by raw chicken! Who does that?! Glad I'll never have to eat dinner at her house.'

However, as the episode progressed, it was revealed that the chicken legs had been parboiled - partially cooked in water - and placed on a tray.

As well as cooking, Meghan has also shown her love of baking, especially since returning to Instagram in January.

In August, she shared a video of her shortbread cookies with jam and flower sprinkles, set atop sprigs of foliage.

But as eagle-eyed royal fans shared the clip to social media, they soon noticed what appeared to be a tiny insect crawling around near a flower cookie at the bottom of the plate.

The bug could be seen moving around the biscuits for a few seconds before disappearing from view.

One person wrote on X/Twitter: 'There's literally a BUG crawling around on the plate! You think Meghan would notice this BEFORE posting!'Meghan caused viewers to roll their eyes at her cookery skills after repackaging supermarket pretzels into her own labelled bag for a guest during another episode of her cooking show.

Others noted that while insects are to be expected when eating outside in the summer, especially with homemade goods, it was more surprising that it could still be spotted in the Instagram brand photos.

One person said: 'When I serve biscuits in the garden, something like that can happen quickly. But when I'm filming to publish, I check every little detail.'