candy
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Written by
Laura Siciliano-Rosen
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
salt water taffy, a type of taffy (a chewy and soft candy) that originated in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. The recipe for salt water taffy does not actually include salt water from the ocean, though it does usually call for salt and water, as well as sugar, corn syrup, butter, cornstarch, flavoring, and coloring. After the mixture is cooked and then cooled, it is pulled and stretched in order to aerate the candy and make it softer. The sweet is said to have received its name after a boardwalk candy shop flooded with water from the Atlantic Ocean in 1883, soaking all the taffy in salty seawater. Reportedly, the shop owner joked with a customer that all he had was salt water taffy, and the name stuck.
