John Colton's blog

Reported by: Matt Gephardt
Monday, June 13 2011

Alan wrote to 2News with a question; he wants to know how salt water taffy gets its name.

And when you ask a 'Good Question,' we give it to Matt Gephardt, who on Fridays, searches for the good answer.

At Taffy Town in Downtown Salt Lake City, they know a little something about salt water taffy.

Every day, they churn out hundreds of pounds of the goody-goodness. Well, an educated guess might have you assuming, that must take a lot of salt water.

But, Vice President Jason Glade says, there is no salt water in any salt water taffy.

Glade says, the name salt water taffy actually comes from the Atlantic City boardwalk on the east coast.

Legend is that more than 100 years ago, a massive wave crashed in from the ocean and flooded a taffy store, ruining all of the taffy.

When the owner re-opened, he jokingly called his product "salt water taffy."

And, like taffy to the roof of your mouth, it just stuck.

Glade says that when his great grandfather opened Taffy Town, proximity to the Great Salt Lake made calling his taffy "Salt Water Taffy," an obvious decision.

Generations later, the operation has expanded. Taffy Town now offers more than seventy flavors. Not one of them contains any salt water.

And, the sales gimmick seems to work pretty well. Taffy Town ships their product all over the world. There is a market for salt water taffy from the home of the Great Salt Lake.

# posted by John Colton @ 10:46 AM