Taffy candy has been made and sold for generations and it’s a favorite souvenir of many vacationers. On May 23, we celebrate this tart and chewy treat for National Taffy Day. National Taffy Day is a day to indulge in the sweet pastime of unwrapping twisty wax paper and popping a chewy bit of taffy into your mouth.

Salt water taffy is a variety of soft taffy originally produced and marketed in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area of the Jersey Shore starting in 1883. Lore has it that in that year, a Jersey Shore candy shop flooded, soaking the shop’s taffy stock with Atlantic salt water. On a whim, the owner sold the candy as “saltwater taffy” and an American delicacy was born. Salt water taffy is still sold widely on the boardwalks in Atlantic City (including shops in existence since the 19th century), nearby Ocean City, and other beaches throughout the US like Cape Cod. It is also popular in Atlantic Canada and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Taffy is made by stretching and pulling a sticky mass of a soft candy base, made of boiled sugar, butter, vegetable oil, flavorings, and colorings, until it becomes aerated (tiny air bubbles produced), resulting in a light, fluffy and chewy candy. When this process is complete, the taffy is rolled, cut into small pieces and wrapped in wax paper to keep it soft. It is usually pastel-colored and fruit-flavored, but other flavors are common as well, including molasses and the “classic” unflavored taffy.