"Salt water taffy" turns up in UK search fairly often, usually from people who've seen it on American TV or brought some back from a US holiday and want to know what it actually is — and whether it really contains salt water. It doesn't, but the name has stuck for well over a century.
An Atlantic City legend
Salt water taffy is most closely associated with the boardwalk resorts of the New Jersey shore in the late 1800s, particularly Atlantic City. The most repeated origin story involves a candy shop getting flooded by an Atlantic storm, leaving the stock soaked in seawater — as the story goes, a shopkeeper (often credited as David Bradley or, in a separate version, Joseph Fralinger) jokingly offered to sell "salt water taffy" to a customer, and the name caught on. Like a lot of confectionery origin stories, the details vary by teller and are impossible to fully verify, but the name has held since the 1880s regardless.
What's actually in it
Despite the name, standard salt water taffy recipes use ordinary tap water and a small pinch of salt like most sweets do — not seawater. It's a chewy, pulled sugar candy similar in texture to toffee or American-style taffy, traditionally sold in small wax-paper-wrapped pieces in dozens of flavours, and remains a seaside-holiday souvenir sweet in the US rather than an everyday supermarket item, including there.
What we actually stock right now
We don't currently stock salt water taffy directly — it's a niche American product that's rarely imported into the UK market, and it isn't something we carry. If you're after that chewy, American-boardwalk style of sweet, though, we do carry genuinely similar chewy American and American-inspired candy: Vidal Dipper Tongue Painter Chew Bars — Case of 100, Vimto Chew Bar Box (60 Bars), and Barratt Black Jack Chews Box (400 Pieces), all of which are currently in stock. Our Barratt Fruit Salad Chews Box (400 Pieces) is the same chewy format but is out of stock at the moment.
FAQ
Does salt water taffy actually contain seawater?
No. It's made with ordinary water and a small amount of salt, like most sweets. The name comes from a disputed 1880s Atlantic City origin story, not the recipe.
Do you stock salt water taffy?
Not directly — it's a niche American product we don't currently carry. We stock genuinely similar chewy sweets instead, including Vidal Dipper Chew Bars, Vimto Chew Bar Box and Barratt Black Jack Chews, all currently in stock.
What does salt water taffy taste and feel like?
It's a soft, chewy, pulled-sugar candy closer to toffee than to a gummy sweet, traditionally sold in small individually wrapped pieces in a wide range of fruit and dessert flavours.
Is salt water taffy the same as regular taffy?
Salt water taffy is a specific American style of taffy associated with seaside boardwalk resorts. "Taffy" more broadly just refers to the pulled-sugar chewy candy category it belongs to.