Salt Water Taffy was born in a storm
This candy certainly took the world by storm! Literally. More about that later! The iconic old fashioned candy, Salt Water Taffy, was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This chewy, airy and light confection is over 125 years old! Salt Water Taffy Candy is most definitely a classic! It's a celebrated candy and a favorite among candy lovers world wide. This perfectly stretchy, extremely delightful, chewy and flavorful candy comes in a huge multitude of delicious flavors and in every colour that you could imagine.
A sweet summertime candy
Salt Water Taffy has the ability of sweetly drifting us back in time. It's a true taste of childhood memories and long summer days filled with smiles, friends and fun! This candy is somewhat of a beach side tradition, but you don't really need a shore line, a beach, or even the summer months to indulge in all of Salt Water Taffy's pleasure. It's delicious all year round, even when it's below freezing and the snow is piled two feet high. Actually it could be a great fuel for all that strenuous shoveling!
Meet me in Atlantic City
Salt Water Taffy's conception happened in Atlantic city, which is considered to be the playground of New Jersey. Atlantic City is where you'll find remarkably beautiful and wide expansive beaches, glitzy and ritzy high rise hotels, and the most extravagant of nightclubs that add flare to the city's famous night life culture. The Boardwalk is an attraction to thousands upon thousands of visitors each year who come from all over the world and can quickly smell the Salt Water Taffy in the air. The Boardwalks four mile stretch of amusement like fun and games are what attracts so many visitors. But what we find most appealing, and it's biggest attraction, has to be it's famous Salt Water Taffy.
Why is this taffy called Salt Water Taffy?
Atlantic City, 1883 and the threat of a huge storm lent it's darkness to the otherwise fun filled Boardwalk. Upon many of it's little shops, there was a little candy store that mostly sold taffy and was owned by a man named David Bradley. Unfortunately during this horrible storm, David Bradley's candy shop took quite a big hit. When Mr. Bradley discovered the extensive damage from the storm he became very distraught and upset. He knew the hard work that was ahead of him that day. Although David Bradley was not alone in this ordeal, his kind and sweet mother offered to come into the shop and help him to get things back in order. Upon entering the shop he realized that the giant waves induced from the awful storm, had violently crashed into his store causing some major flooding, soaking his entire stock of candy and taffy!
David and his mother started the long and tiring task of cleaning and getting things back in order. During this cleaning, David grew weary and sad. He wondered if his shop would ever be the same again. His mother worked in the back cleaning, while David flung buckets and buckets full of water out his front store door.
In the midst of this horrible tragedy, a sweet little girl appeared asking to buy some taffy! David, being somewhat annoyed, sarcastically replied: "Taffy, yes, I have Salt Water Taffy!".
David obliged his little candy customer and the girl was thrilled! She ran towards her friends excitedly, and bragged that she had just bought some very special taffy. A new taffy they had never heard of before,"Salt Water Taffy". The little girl and her friends spread the word and it certainly stuck. David's mother overheard the whole exchange and advised her son that the name Salt Water Taffy had much better appeal than just using the word taffy. From that day forward, from the aftermath of a storm. Salt Water Taffy was born! And that, my candy loving friends, is how Salt Water Taffy got it's sweet name.
Salt Water Taffy is a part of the Boardwalk culture
By the 1920's Salt water Taffy was at the height of it's popularity. With more then 450 makers and sellers of the sweet stuff. The words of David Bradley's that were simply added in front of "taffy" had caused much excitement, talk and curiosity about Salt Water Taffy. This old fashioned candy became a must have during strolls and vacations on the Boardwalk. In fact the making of fresh Salt Water Taffy is part of the attraction you'll find throughout the candy shop windows that line the Boardwalk. To this day, Salt water Taffy is a must have, a must take home souvenir! It just goes hand in hand with this place and is synonymous with sun, sand and the Atlantic City salt water air.
Salt Water Taffy is Sweet!
Despite the word salt, Salt Water Taffy does not have a salty taste. These isn't any "Salt Water" in Salt Water Taffy. The most common ingredients you'll find inside a piece of this chewy old fashioned candy are sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, salt (but not saltwater), butter, natural or artificial flavors and perhaps some food colouring, But no Salt Water!
Believe it or not the process of making Salt Water Taffy hasn't changed much in the last 100 years or so. However there are now special machines that pull and stretch the taffy. Before that it was all done by hand. If you've ever attempted to make homemade Salt Water Taffy at home, you know what I'm taking about.
So many flavours of Salt Water Taffy
The choices of Salt Water Taffy are seemingly endless. Some of the most well loved and classic flavors are: Chocolate, Strawberry, Blue Raspberry, Vanilla, Licorice and Watermelon but the list just goes on and on! Whatever flavor you might be craving, chances are you can happily find in a piece of Salt Water Taffy.
Enjoy this Old Fashioned Candy anywhere
You don't require a beach or the Jersey Shore to enjoy Salt Water Taffy. It 's an ideal summer time candy wherever you may be. Maybe it's all those pretty pastel colours and the soft and airy texture that just reminds us of warm and sunny days. This old fashioned candy is adored by many candy lovers world wide. Because of it's extensive flavors there is sure to be a favorite just for you!
Try a bag of Salt Water Taffy at your next party or gathering! They look beautiful in a candy buffet and are sure to easily compliment any dessert table. With such delicious flavors and so many colours available they can easily suit any themed event.
Get your Salt Water Taffy Here!