If there are two specific items people LOVE to go home with after a vacation to one of South Jersey’s beach towns, they’ve got to be fudge and salt water taffy.

I understand the fudge obsession. There’s something special about fudge from the Jersey Shore. It’s delicious. Salt water taffy, though… I beg to differ.

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Salt water taffy is a legendary treat in New Jersey that people claim to absolutely love. It may sound like it's made from actual seawater, but it’s really just a fun name. The candy is chewy, sweet, and comes in a variety of flavors.

The story of salt water taffy starts in the late 19th century in Atlantic City. Legend has it that a candy shop owner named Enoch James had his shop flooded during a storm, with the seawater spilling into his candy. When a young girl asked for some taffy, he jokingly offered her "salt water taffy," referring to the accident. The name stuck and the rest, as they say, is history. Over time, salt water taffy became a favorite treat for tourists visiting the beach.

It eventually became a symbol of summer on the Jersey Shore. The sweet, chewy candy was a way for people to take a little bit of the beach with them when they left.

JM for TSM
JM for TSM
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Does NJ Secretly Hate Salt Water Taffy?

Here’s the thing about people’s love for it: I call bull****. There’s NO WAY people actually love salt water taffy as much as they say they do, right? Sometimes, it’s so hard I can’t even bite into it. The texture mixed with the fruit flavors have become a hard “no” for me as I grew up. They’re basically Skittles-flavored Tootsie Rolls.

I think most NJ residents love the lure behind salt water taffy but aren’t actually huge fans of it.

Let me know how you really feel about salt water taffy on the app.

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