Homemade Taffy Recipe | Skip To My Lou (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between taffy and salt water taffy? ›

Regular Taffy. Since salt water taffy gained its moniker following that offhanded comment after the flooding in Atlantic City, there is really no difference between salt water taffy and regular taffy. There was little or no salt added to the candy over 100 years ago or now.

If it's very cold outside, the candy is cooked at a lower temperature, which produces a softer candy. The opposite holds true when the temperature is above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. We cook the taffy to a higher degree, producing a slightly firmer piece of candy.

Does salt water taffy expire? Yes, taffy can go bad and generally expires six months after purchase. Homemade taffy expires even sooner and only lasts 3-7 days.

It is also popular in Atlantic Canada and Salt Lake City, Utah. Modern commercial taffy is made primarily from corn syrup, glycerin and butter.

In this taffy recipe, glycerin helps give the candy a soft, creamy consistency. Glycerin can be found in many drugstores, as well as some supermarkets and craft stores in the baking supplies section, or in cake-decorating stores.

Don't worry though, each has a quick solution for returning taffy back to its natural, delicious state. For melted taffy, try putting in the refrigerator for a few minutes before unwrapping. For cold taffy, place it a warm area of your abode and give it a bit of time to return to room temperature.

Taffy is just as sensitive to cold as it is hot, meaning that melted taffy is easily rejuvenated to its regular consistency. The best solution to melted taffy is merely to let it set unbothered at room temperature (72 for a period of 24 hours.

Store in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature for the longest shelf life, which can be up to 3 months before the consistency begins to change. Some like to freeze their taffy to preserve its peak flavor for longer, though don't forget to let it thaw completely at room temperature before trying to take a bite!

Taffies and other sticky candies have the potential to pull out a filling or a crown. When a filling or crown is pulled out by candy, it means that the restoration was most likely failing and needed to be replaced.

Saltwater taffy, without a doubt can and will melt if left in the heat for too long. The beauty about the World's Most Famous Taffy™ is that if given time in proper room temperature conditions, it will firm up and get back to where it was originally.

Why are they called salt water taffys? ›

The sweet is said to have received its name after a boardwalk candy shop flooded with water from the Atlantic Ocean in 1883, soaking all the taffy in salty seawater. Reportedly, the shop owner joked with a customer that all he had was salt water taffy, and the name stuck.

Perhaps the salty air simply gives people a hankering for something sweet; it's also possible that the candies' decelerated drying and oxidation in humid air give them a unique “coastal” flavor.

There really is no wrong way to eat a piece of taffy. But we give super props to anyone that can keep it in their mouth without eating it for longer than it takes to chew it.

While there are various taffy-making formulas, the basic ingredients consist of sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, salt, water (but not salt water!), butter, glycerine, food coloring and natural or artificial flavors.