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Is there Salt in Salt Water Taffy?- Despite its name, salt water taffy is not made from salt water from the ocean, although you do need a little bit of salt and some water to make a batch of taffy.
While it isn?t quite clear where or how salt water taffy was invented, the most popular yarn involves David Bradley, who owned a taffy store on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in 1883. A huge wave rushed into his store on the Boardwalk and dumped salt water on his inventory of taffy. As he was cleaning up the mess, a girl walked into his store and asked for a bag of taffy. Bradley supposedly told her to help herself to his "salt water taffy."
While this is a colorful story, historians note that the first mention of "salt water taffy" wasn?t recorded in Atlantic City business directories until 1889. The term ?salt water taffy? was never trademarked, however, and became a marketing term.
A confectioner named Joseph Fralinger was really the first to market boxes of taffy as souvenirs to tourists in Atlantic City. Built in 1870 by railroad conductor Alexander Boardman, the Atlantic City Boardwalk was originally designed to prevent sand from creeping into hotel lobbies as well as the passenger cars of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad. Atlantic City became the Queen of American resorts and Joseph Fralinger was the King of Salt Water Taffy.
Fralinger was so confident in his plan that he purchased 200 boxes and filled them with long, finger-sized logs of taffy wrapped in wax paper. He started selling his souvenir boxes on a Saturday evening and by Sunday morning he had sold out his entire supply to departing vacationers.
So while there isn?t salt water in salt water taffy, and it may have not been invented at the shore, salt water taffy is certainly a favorite Jersey thing.
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