Our story · Since 1917
Four Generations. One Recipe Book.
From a family kitchen in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to tables around the world — made the same way, with the same ingredients, for more than a hundred years.
It started with a few home repairs.
In 1917, Edna Sassard — an excellent cook, canner and preserver — needed money for repairs to the family's home on Church Street in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, a house dating to the 1870s. So she began putting up her Jerusalem artichoke relish to sell.
A local general store called The Automatic agreed to carry it, and her husband, Nelson, printed the labels. Word spread from neighbor to neighbor, and a Jerusalem artichoke farmer who loved her relish gave the company the words it still lives by: "Made its way by the way it's made." Edna went on to add Green Tomato Relish, Sweet Onion Relish, Icebox Tomato Pickles, Icebox Cucumber Pickles, Pumpkin Chip Preserves and others, and ran the business for some 40 years.
For years everything was made in the family kitchen. In the 1960s, production moved into a former printing shop in the backyard, which became affectionately known as the "Pickle Shop." By 1977 it was turning out more than 500 cases of artichoke relish a year, plus over 200 cases of preserves and pickles.
Our history
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1917
Edna Sassard starts selling her Jerusalem artichoke relish from the Old Village of Mount Pleasant.
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1957
Gertrude — "Mrs. Sassard" — takes over with Dupre, adding strawberry, blueberry, peach and blackberry preserves and hot pepper jelly.
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1960s
Production moves into a former printing shop out back, which became affectionately known as the "Pickle Shop."
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2014
Allen and Dayna Sassard, the third generation, carry the family recipes forward.
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2017
Our 100th anniversary — a Southern tradition, 1917–2017.
Our family
The original Mrs. Sassard
For many years, Gertrude Elizabeth Sassard was affectionately known to everyone simply as "Mrs. Sassard." With little preserving experience when Edna handed her the recipes in 1957, she mastered the craft, ran the company with her husband, Dupre, and created the strawberry, blueberry, peach and blackberry preserves and hot pepper jelly we still make today. She is pictured here with her son, Allen. We remember her with love.
From the family album
"Family does everything from scratch"
That's how The Post and Courier's Food Day section put it on October 30, 1996. At the time, the family was putting up about 40,000 jars a year by hand, in a kitchen behind Gertrude and Dupre's home on Church Street in the Old Village — and filling every jar by hand.
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The Post and Courier, October 30, 1996. Allen (left) and his father, Dupre, fill and seal jars of artichoke relish. -
Gertrude — "Mrs. Sassard" — with a full grocery display of her relishes, pickles and preserves. -
The article ends with Allen holding a photo of his son Ryan, age 2½: "This is the fourth generation."
- jars a year, filled by hand, in 1996
- 40,000
- of Sassards — Edna, Gertrude & Dupre, Allen & Dayna, and now brothers Matthew & Ryan (Hannah) to carry the legacy forward
- 4 generations
- of the same ingredients and the same process — nothing artificial, ever
- 100+ years
Made the same way for over 100 years
Same ingredients. Same process. Nothing artificial.
Most of our recipes go back well over a hundred years, and we still make every jar exactly the way Edna did — the same ingredients and the same process. Farm-fresh produce, apple cider vinegar and wholesome ingredients. No artificial fillers. No preservatives.
Anyone who has tasted Mrs. Sassard's Jerusalem Artichoke Relish knows there's nothing else like it. We believe there's no other Jerusalem artichoke relish in the world that compares.
All natural · Handmade · Since 1917
From the field to the jar
How a batch of Jerusalem Artichoke Relish comes together.
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1. Washed and trimmed by hand
Every Jerusalem artichoke is washed and trimmed by hand. Their knobby shape makes it slow, tedious work — and there's no shortcut.
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2. Cooked in the kettle
The artichokes are cooked with cabbage, onion, bell pepper, sugar, apple cider vinegar and spices — just as they were in 1917.
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3. Filled and sealed
Every jar is filled and sealed, ready for your table.
Farm-fresh ingredients
It starts with what's in season.
Whole fruit and fresh vegetables — the same wholesome ingredients the recipes have always called for.
A Charleston treasure
Known far beyond the Lowcountry
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A royal request
Mrs. Sassard's was requested and ordered by the Queen of England, who sent the Sassard family a personal handwritten letter about her affection for it.
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Smithsonian Magazine
Featured in "Southern Comfort" by Marialisa Calta (February 2003), which visited the Sassard family in Mount Pleasant and their pickling tradition dating to 1917.
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Moultrie News
Celebrated our centennial in "Relish it — 100 years and still 'Made its way by the way it's made'" (May 2017).
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The Post and Courier
Charleston's daily paper has followed the family for decades — from the 1996 Food Day cover story "Family does everything from scratch" to "The next generation" (2014) and the company's 103rd year in 2020.
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Charleston Magazine
Named Jerusalem artichoke relish one of its "40 Very Charleston Dishes" (2015) — and told readers to buy Mrs. Sassard's by the jar.
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Charleston City Paper
Asked for the best Charleston food souvenir, the Lee Bros. named Mrs. Sassard's Artichoke Relish (2013).
Customer reviews
What people say about Mrs. Sassard's
100% recommend · 35 reviews on Facebook
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“I have been eating Mrs Sassard's products since I was a little girl. I am 62 and still eating it. I live in Florida now but every time I go to Charleston I pick up a few jars. Thanks so much for the yummies for all these years.”
Claudia G. · July 2021
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“Best I have ever eaten! Nothing else comes close to comparing…”
Patty R. · January 2014
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“Excellent. Nothing quite like it. One of a kind.”
Will J. · February 2014
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“A truly sensational product that is so consistent, you have to try it for yourself. Nothing else even comes close to this stuff!”
Patrick D., Ohio · August 2017
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“The taste of the Lowcountry.”
Jennifer C. · May 2014
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“The best in town!”
Grace E. · January 2014
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“My poor sister is forced to hide some jars…”
A customer's letter in the family scrapbook · The Post and Courier, 1996
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“Mrs. Sassard's preserves and pickles have outlived the Great Depression.”
Harry Hallman, former Mayor of Mount Pleasant · Moultrie News, 2017
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“We have people who say they can't have Thanksgiving without it.”
Allen Sassard · The Post and Courier, 1996
★★★★★ Also recommended by Stephanie P., Gary D., John B., Dia P., Milissa S., Kody G., Toni H., Alex T., Christine D., Cyndy P., Dave E., Kathaleen H., Bill W., Rossi C., Kevin G., John R., Mary S. — and more.
Love Mrs. Sassard's? We'd be honored to hear from you.
Share your storyMeet the Jerusalem artichoke
Not from Jerusalem. Not an artichoke.
The Jerusalem artichoke — some call it a sunchoke — is the knobby root of a North American sunflower. That's the yellow bloom you'll see on our label.
Crisp and slightly nutty, it holds its crunch in the jar, which is why it became the heart of the relish Edna Sassard first made more than a century ago.