Salt Water Taffy

When I do book signings, I always have a bowl of salt water taffy on my table to tie in with the ocean theme of Call Me Amy. I thought I’d put an Old Salt (seafaring fellow) in this picture of the taffy. According to legend, in 1883 a candy shop was flooded during a major storm. As a result, David Bradley’s entire stock of taffy was saturated with salt water from the ocean. For a joke, he offered the “salt water” taffy to his next customers. The name stuck and people have been enjoying it ever since. Salt water taffy doesn’t actually contain seawater but it does have both water and salt as ingredients. After it has cooked and cooled, the sticky treat needs to be stretched. This adds air to the mixture and keeps it soft. Before the process was automated, many a household enjoyed taffy pulls.