JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<select id="myDDL">
<option selected="selected" value="0">default</option>
<option value="1">apples</option>
<option value="2">oranges</option>
</select>
JavaScript
setFieldValue("myDDL", "apples");
function setFieldValue(field, value)
{
$("#" + field + " option").filter(function(){
return $(this).text() === value ;
}).prop('selected', true)
}