SO - 22272120

by Arun P Johny

HTML

<select id="size">
    <option value="19991">Medium</option>
    <option value="19992">Large</option>
    <option value="19993">XLarge</option>
</select>

JavaScript

var theText = "Large";
$("#size option").filter(function () {
    return $.trim($(this).text()) == theText;
}).attr('selected', 'selected');