taffy

Taffy is a type of candy invented in the United States, made by stretching or/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. Definition and etymology The word taffy, referring to the boiled candy, is first known to have appeared in the United States circa 1817. The word is also used metaphorically to refer to insincere flattery. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first written record of the word toffee in the forms tuffy, toughy to 1825 and identifies it as a southern British dialectal variant of taffy (first recorded use in 1817), whose modern spelling is first recorded from 1843. Toffee is a caramelized sugar or molasses candy invented in the United Kingdom, entirely distinct from taffy. Taffy pull A taffy pull is a social event around the pulling of taffy that was popular in the 1840s through at least 1870s. The host would prepare the taffy recipe by melting molasses and sorghum or sugar with a mixture of water. Participants would coat their hands with butter and working with a partner pull the hot mixture apart, and then fold it back together and repeat. This process would add air to the candy, resulting in a soft chewable texture.