A fine spiced pickle...(Spurious Quotation)

Quotation: "On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally's cellar."

First appearance in print: William Clendenin, "The Story of Pickles," The Canner 54, no. 2 (May 27, 1922): 41.

Comments: This quotation does not appear in Jefferson's writings or any other contemporary source. It first appears in a piece published in a Chicago food industry publication, The Canner, in 1922, as an address by William Clendenin to the Women's National Health Association. Clendenin worked in public relations and advertising for several different industries; given the tone of his item in The Canner, it was likely meant as a tongue-in-cheek reference. Clendenin also claims that Julius Caesar, Napoleon, and Queen Elizabeth all loved to eat pickles.

- Anna Berkes, 1/16/24