# Taffy types: Saltwater, other? Freshwater? Wellwater? Brackish? Turkish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2007, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887 "2007-09-29T01:36:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/1 "2007-09-29T01:36:46Z")
Like the thread title says. A cursory search here turned up nothing helpful. Are there other types of taffy besides saltwater? Why saltwater? What makes taffy _taffy_? What’s the best taffy? And what really goes on at a taffy pull, anyway??? What’s the SD on taffy? ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/2 "2007-09-29T02:35:52Z")
Saltwater taffy does not contain saltwater. It does seem to retain a certain flavor from the ocean air, hence the name. (I heard this on an episode of American Eats, or something like that.) And a taffy pull consists of buttering your hands, and pulling, doubling, and pulling again, with a partner, over and over and over again, until the taffy is the proper consistency. It’s messy. I do not recommend this with small children around. The best comes from Atlantic City, NJ. The worst comes from wherever my mother-in-law went in Florida. Mackinac Island, MI had some pretty decent stuff, too, the last time I was there. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/3 "2007-09-29T05:09:04Z")
Came in to say what MissGypsy already said. The best saltwater taffy definitely comes from Atlantic City, NJ. I have my mother mail me some every now and then when I get a craving. I’ll put a bowl of it on my desk, it disappears quickly, and my co-workers are always very grateful. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/4 "2007-09-29T05:59:07Z")
I’ve never been to Atlantic City so I can’t comment on the taffy that comes from there but in the Pacific Northwest, I can highly recommend the saltwater taffy made in \*\*Phillips Candy Kitchen \*\* in Seaside, OR. The batches of taffy are regularly made in the shop so they’re always fresh with just the right balance between softness and chewiness. I think the best saltwater taffy has to be fresh (i.e., made in the store where you bought it). I think a lot of people have had bad experiences with hard stale taffy that’s been shipped in from cross-country and passed off like it’s homemade. As a result, many swear off taffy altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/5 "2007-09-29T06:45:42Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Like the thread title says. A cursory search here turned up nothing helpful. Are there other types of taffy besides saltwater? [/QUOTE] Laffy? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/6 "2007-09-29T11:52:03Z")
[QUOTE=MissGypsy] Saltwater taffy does not contain saltwater. It does seem to retain a certain flavor from the ocean air, hence the name. … [/QUOTE] Just to add some flavor, > [@](#): > > [**Salt water taffy history**](http://www.hungrymonster.com/FoodFacts/Food_Facts.cfm?Phrase_vch=Candy&fid=6706) > > Right off the top - 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. … maybe Mr. Bradley was just pulling our leg! CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/7 "2007-09-29T14:36:19Z")
Thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![neorxnawange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f4b2a3/32.png) [@neorxnawange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neorxnawange)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/8 "2007-09-29T15:03:15Z")
Can someone suggest a particularly good taffy maker in Atlantic City that ships? I 'd like to order some and give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/9 "2007-09-29T22:11:25Z")
All taffys are made from corn syrup, sugar, and flavoring. Most shops who make it have a machine to pull and stretch the taffy-its the pulling and stretching that intoduces air bubbles 9that make the taffy soft and chewy). There are plent od shops making it. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taffy-types-saltwater-other-freshwater-wellwater-brackish-turkish/420887/10 "2007-09-29T22:44:20Z")
Depending on where you are, go to Gatlinburg, TN sometime. There should stil be a candy store there with a constantly running taffy machine. You can just sit and watch the machine for minutes and minutes. It’s just mesmerizing to watch. Sadly, Gatlinburg has become so touristy that it’s not fun any more.