Taffy Pull Trials

Haven’t you ever wondered how things came about? Like, who was the first person to look at a cow and say, “I’m going to drink whatever comes out of those when I squeeze ‘em” …? (thank you, Calvin & Hobbes). Well, saltwater taffy has become somewhat of a tradition at work this summer. It seems as though everyone brings it back whenever they go on a trip. Which made me wonder, who invented taffy? And how do you make it?

Insert a Google search. Skip the history, I just want to know how to make it. It seemed simple enough, so I had the brilliant idea that our office should get together and have a good old-fashioned taffy pull! Sounds fun, right?

Note to all taffy-pullin’ hopefuls out there: Taffy is HOT. The recipe will say, “the taffy will be hot, so handle carefully.” What it should say is, “the taffy will BURN your hands!!! It is very very HOT. Es muy muy CALIENTE. Tres tres CHAUD. Es war sehr sehr HEISS. No matter how you translate it, it still means THE TAFFY IS FLAMIN’ HOT. Got it?

Well, even through the huffs and puffs and blowing on of hands (sounds like some kind of ritual), we had a load of fun! However, we never actually made taffy. We made burnt brown rocks the first time. You can’t overcook taffy. Second time around, it was actually pretty! A lovely pink shade actually, and it had a light peppermint flavor as well. But it still was slightly overcooked, so instead of taffy, it was hard candy. We pulled and pulled, taking frequent rests to re-butter our hands and let them cool off, but in the end it still hardened up.

But here’s what we figure, if we can go from burnt to edible after only two times, we will definitely have taffy the next time. Third time’s a charm!

So go for it! Google taffy, find out its history, a recipe, and plan your own taffy-pull! Plan for at least 3-4 trial runs though. Although, you might just be an expert and get it right on the first time…you’ll never know unless you try!

and remember the thing about it being hot. oh, excuse me. VERY VERY HOT.