We just returned from a week at the Outer Banks, a narrow series of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina. Unfortunately, a tropical depression developed offshore giving us four days of rain, clouds, and howling winds. Yet, we made the best of it, darting in and out of shops that were open.
One of them, Forbes Candy, was especially interesting. The candy store is known for its handmade chocolates, fudge, and saltwater taffy. It was the latter that caught my attention as a vintage taffy pulling machine stood like a sentinel guarding bins and bins of paper-wrapped nuggets of rainbow-colored confections. Immediately, my mind whirled with questions about the history of taffy. Where and when was saltwater taffy invented? Is it really made with saltwater? Realizing I had a blog scheduled for Sweet Americana Sweethearts, I found my topic.
Like many favorite recipes, the history of saltwater taffy isn't always clear, by one thing is certain...this American-made candy has been around for over a century and enjoyed by millions.
Most food historians believe saltwater was invented in the early 1880s. John Edmiston owned a small boardwalk shop in Atlantic City, New Jersey where he hired a man to sell taffy alongside his wares. Unfortunately, he eventually fired the man but kept the popular candy in his hop. One night, an ocean swell flooded his shop. In the morning Edmiston discovered all the taffy had been soaked in salty sea foam.
During the cleanup, a young girl came into the store asking if he still had some taffy for sale. Jokingly, Edmiston said that he had some "saltwater taffy." The girl purchased the taffy to share with her friends. Her mother heard the name and instantly loved it, and thus the name "saltwater taffy" was born.
While the story is charming in its own right, recipes for saltwater do not contain actual salt water, especially not ocean water! However, both water and salt are usually added at some point during the cooking process, so the name still fits.
Atlantic City was a popular getaway in the late 19th century, boasting of fine dining restaurants, upscale hotels, gambling halls, and boardwalk games. Once Edmiston coined the curious term "saltwater taffy" the treat grew in popularity.
But it was Joseph Fralinger, a confectioner, who is given credit for being the first successful merchandiser of the candy. He came up with the idea of boxing up the taffy for people to take home. phenomenal success, the boxes of taffy sold out quickly.
Another confectioner, Enoch James had been tinkering with a recipe for taffy. His recipe was cooked in copper kettles over open coal fires, cooled on marble slabs, and pulled on a large hook on the wall. As the taffy stretched to five or six feet in length, it was folded onto itself to help it remain light and smooth. His recipe was different than most, designed to pull out one's teeth. It was smooth, creamy, and available in a variety of flavors and a new "cut-to-fit-the-mouth" shape. 
By the early 20th century, James and his family had improved the process by introducing taffy-wrapping machines, candy pulling machines, electric ovens, and vacuum cooking kettles, many of which are still used today.
Back to Forbes Candy Shop...in addition to the usual flavors of peppermint, chocolate, peanut butter (my personal favorite!), molasses, strawberry, grape, and cherry, there were exotic flavors as pina colada, key lime pie, banana and coconut. And although I wasn't interested in trying chicken and waffles, dill pickle, or chili mango, or maple and habanero pepper, far younger customers than myself gamely dropped a few in the bags supplied by Forbes.
Saltwater taffy may have begun on boardwalks by the ocean, but it is now commonly enjoyed as a tasty treat all over the country. Thanks to the pioneers of saltwater taffy, this wrapped candy can be enjoyed anywhere...it is no longer a beachside treat!
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