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Lord Anthony Ardee could tell Meghan Markle a thing or two about the fine art of making—and marketing—posh jam. Ardee is the 15th generation of his family to manage their estate, Kilruddery House near Dublin, Ireland. The house’s magnificent gardens, laid out in the 17th century, are home to a thriving farm shop, which has been selling jam and other preserves for several years.
He told The Daily Beast: “Jam is not new, and we began making it for the same reason people have always made jam; a glut of fruit in the garden which needed to be preserved. We still use the traditional family recipes and make it all here in the house kitchen.”
Ardee estimates that they make a few thousand pots a year, selling for between €5 ($5) and €8 ($8.50) a pot. Strawberry jam is the cheapest; their damson jam, made from the fruit of a single tree in the walled garden, typically commands a higher price. While this may qualify as a pretty penny in the wilds of Ireland, it’s unlikely to make much of a dent in the Sussex family’s monthly Montecito outgoings.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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