Why do they call it salt water taffy?

Question

This may seem like a stupid question but I was just curious . Why is salt water taffy called salt water taffy

Answer 1

The story goes that Mr. David Bradley's boardwalk Taffy Store was damaged by storm tide water in the summer of 1883. Included in the damage was his supply of taffy. The next day his first customer was a girl who asked for a bag of taffy. Being in a bit of bad humor because of his soggy taffy, Bradley replied, "You mean salt water taffy." Apparently,
Bradley's mother overheard his remark and suggested that he the candy that name.
In the summer of 1884, he opened his stand selling "Salt Water Taffy." The rest is history. Atlantic City directories show no listing of any store selling "salt water taffy" until 1889. So make what you will of the story.The phrase "salt water taffy," apparently was never copyrighted and has been used by various candy makers over the years. The peak of the taffy frenzy occurred in the 1920's when there were over400 companies making and marketing the product.

Answer 2

Funny that you asked this. I just watched a show about the history of taffy. It seems that taffy used to be a cheap treat sold on the boardwalks in New Jersey. Taffy was orgianlly made with regualr tap water. A storm came up and salt water from the ocean got into some of the taffy. Many of the men lost everything but wanted to see what effect the salt had on the consistancy of the taffy. When they realized that the salt made the taffy more pliable they began to use it on a regualr basis hence the salt water taffy. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

salt water taffy is not made from salt water. You do need some salt and some water to make a batch of taffy, however. But the name "salt water taffy" doesn't come from the ingredients either. No one knows where the name "salt water taffy" came from. The most popular story of origin involves a shopkeeper on the Atlantic City Boardwalk named David Bradley. A tidal surge from a summer storm in 1883 swamped Bradley's store and buried his inventory in sea water. As he was cleaning up the following day a girl walked into his store and asked for a bag of taffy. Bradley was supposed to have sarcastically invited his young customer to help herself to his "salt water taffy." Bradley's mother thought his grumpy remark to be catchy and encouraged him to begin selling his candy as "salt water taffy."
Historians record the first mention of "salt water taffy" in Atlantic City business directories in 1889 so the Bradley story may be apocryphal. The term was never trademarked, however, and whatever its origins it became the accepted way to market taffy.

Just as no one knows who first called the sweet candy "salt water taffy," there is no record of who boiled the first vat of sugar, corn syrup, water, cornstarch, butter and salt to make the first taffy. Taffy is thought to have been a popular confection at country fairs in the Midwest by the 1880s and it was certainly being sold in America's first seaside resort by that time - Atlantic City.
it is also thought to be that someone accidently put taffy on a table next to a salt water ocean. they think that some of the ocean water evaporated and some how got into the taffy. When someone tasted the taffy they tought it was salty.

Answer 4

No salt water in salt water taffy. The candy was invented after a storm wrecked most of, I think, coney island where the candy stand was located. It was introduced during the cleaning efforts and got the name.

Answer 5

They dissolve the salt in thr water before adding it to the mixture. I'm not sure what NON salt-water taffy is like... probably the same exact thing!

Answer 6

salt water taffy was given its name since it was marketed in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1800s originally...which is salt water...but, yes, salt and water are used to make salt taffy, but not saltwater itself. You might notice at boardwalks or beaches salt water being sold(CA for example). That´s it:)
yum! i love salt water taffyXD

Answer 7

because taffy comes form water....salt water. so therefore its salt water taffy. i didnt know that either until a few days ago.

Answer 8

Salt water is used in the recipe, and the item was originally sold in Atlantic City, NJ on the ocean. To this day it seems to be sold in ocean resorts only.

Answer 9

Because it is traditionally sold on boardwalks by the ocean.