Around the Block: 7/8/2022

I actually got my 2nd Covid Vaccine Booster (4th shot) last night, so I am feeling a little tired today. All good though, and I recommend you stay up to date with your boosters!

Anyway, a short and light-hearted piece this week. As a kid going down the shore, I always loved salt water taffy. Back in the early 70s when I was really little, my grandfather Herb Kramer had a restaurant on Tennessee Avenue (between Pacific and the Boardwalk) in Atlantic City. This was before casino gambling and it was obviously a totally different town. But one thing that has not changed? The recipe and ingredients for salt water taffy, and the three main companies I remember from my youth are the same as well—James, Fralinger’s, and Shriver’s.

When I was a child, my family gravitated towards AC, so James Salt Water Taffy was our family favorite by far. Now as a grown-up, with kids of my own, when we are down the shore (which is not too often), we head towards Ocean City, so Shriver’s is more in our wheelhouse.

As a kid, I was enamored by the story of how salt water taffy was invented. I thought that everyone knew the legend. A boardwalk candy maker was the victim of a storm where ocean water inundated his candy. He tried it and It was delicious… and there you have it. As a kid (and maybe also as an adult 😊), that is what I thought. Except that is not what really happened and salt water taffy does not even have any salt. (At some point I did think to actually read the ingredients.) But what a great marketing name, right?

The Philadelphia Inquirer did a recent piece on salt water taffy, which brought up all these memories. (The Shore’s Taffy Tradition by Kae Lani Palmisano.) Most interestingly to me, this piece discussed the history and the legend of salt water taffy:

“How salt water taffy got its name is another mystery. The apocryphal story goes that during the late 1800s, a storm surge flooded a boardwalk candy shop in Atlantic City. The next morning, the shop owner discovered to his dismay that his taffy had been soaked in seawater. A little girl who wanted to buy some of the taffy joked that it was now “salt water taffy” and the name has stuck.

Despite the name, there is no ocean water in the candy. Salt water taffy begins with cooking molasses, butter, sugar, and water in a large, copper kettle until it turns into a soft, sticky, and pliable mixture. Once it’s set, candy makers knead the taffy, a process that helps it cool and remove bubbles. Candy makers will then flip and fold the hulking slabs, which can weigh upward of 50 pounds.”

Now my favorite flavor has always been molasses. I also like black licorice, lemon, lime, grape, and a bunch of others. Not a huge fan of any mint flavors. Especially peppermint. My kids ask, “why do they make a toothpaste flavor?” Though I think the mint flavors are actually quite popular.

I grew up with salt water taffy, and it is obviously a staple candy of the South Jersey shore. What I don’t know is whether people from other parts of the country would even be familiar with the treat. Have they tried it? Even heard of it? If you are from somewhere else, let me know. And if you are from around here, let me know if this confection was a part of your childhood memories. And what are your favorite flavors?

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Warm regards,

Jeff

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