SALT WATER TAFFY… A Provincetown, Cape Cod Tradition

History of Salt Water Taffy

The origins of Salt Water Taffy are adrift in mystery, no one knows who created the original recipe, or when they began to market it. It is known to have been sold at county fairs in the Midwest and at the beach side resort of Atlantic City in 1880.

According to one legend, in 1883 a huge storm hit the Jersey shore and flooded the boardwalk. David Bradley was in the midst of trying to put his soggy candy store back together when a little pigtailed girl poked her head in and asked if he had any taffy for sale. He jokingly told the girl to grab some “Salt Water Taffy”. She was happy as could be and purchased the taffy, taking it down to the beach to share with her friends. David’s mother overheard the remark and suggested that he add “salt water” to taffy and the rest is history. Today, some recipes for Salt Water Taffy call for a teaspoon of salt, though usually not coarse sea salt.

Another legend gives credit to Joseph Fralinger, a man who long pondered the beach tourist’s gift needs and decided to purchase 200 cardboard boxes to pack the taffy in for it’s easy transport. To his amazement, they sold out before the weekend was over.

Joseph’s tremendous success quickly caught the attention of Enoch James, who left his home in the Midwest to find his taffy fortune in Atlantic City. Enoch found a vacant shop near Joseph’s and the “Taffy Wars of the 1900s” began. Even though the two manufactured taffy using different recipes, the most noticeable difference between the two was the shape. Joseph cut his taffy into a “log” shape which was long and skinny. Enoch’s family produced a square bite size taffy; known as a “kiss” and they are credited with mechanizing the pulling process.

By the 1920’s more than 440 manufactures were producing and or selling taffy which had hit it’s pinnacle of popularity. Make it's way up the eastern seaboard to Cape Cod and all the way to Provincetown. During this time John R. Edmiston obtained a trademark for the term “original” Salt Water Taffy, but in 1923, the Supreme Court passed down a ruling that the candy had been around too long and used by people too numerous for him to be able to claim royalties from the “original” title.

The Salt Water Taffy process is simple, yet labor intensive. Recipes typically contain corn syrup, sugar, butter, a little salt (of course) and some other various ingredients, melted down in kettles at a temperature between 250 to 270. The higher the temperature, the more brittle the candy and the lower the temperature, the chewier the candy. When blended well, it is placed on marble slabs to cool. In the old days, “Pullers” would place 10 to 25 pounds of taffy on giant hooks right out on the Atlantic City boardwalk. When the confection stretched down 5 or 6 feet it would begin to fall of the hooks ( not much time to sneak off under the boardwalk with a tourist girl, Lynette has tried to lure pullers under the piers but no luck.), then the “puller” would pick up the taffy and place it back over the hook. This pulling process gives the Salt Water Taffy a unique texture by incorporating air into the confection. When the confection is too difficult to pull, it is placed on trays or marble slabs to cool, then cut with greased scissors. The modern Taffy making method include a second vacuum cooking, with pulling and packaging done by machine. These advances allow 1000 pieces of Taffy to be produced in a minute. In an hour, enough pieces of Taffy can be produced to cover about 1/3 of the length of Commercial St. in Provincetown, MA. Be sure to have enough taffy on hand to celebrate National Taffy day on May 23!

Provincetown Gossip:

People in the Provincetown taffy trade often joke that Salt Water Taffy is like grape nuts, no grapes no nuts. Well there is water and salt! No matter Salt Water Taffy is a local staple and tradition of Cape Cod, especially popular on Commercial Street downtown Provincetown.