Blog

How is Taffy Made?

While there is not one simple answer to this question, the process tends to be the same for all the Saltwater Taffy Manufacturers out there.

Cooking:The taffy making process usually starts with the same common ingredients of Corn Syrup, Sugar, Oil/Butter, Flavoring and Coloring. These ingredients are then combined and cooked up to a certain temperature. Each company cooks their recipes a bit differently I am sure, but most of us tend to cook the taffy to around 250 degrees.

Pulling/Whipping: The taffy is then poured onto a cooling table and given time to cool. Once it has done so, it needs to then be aerated. Some manufacturers like to "pull" their taffy, others like to use a "whipping" process. The purpose of both of these is to add air into the product. This process causes millions of tiny air bubbles to form which is how a clear batch of cooked candy, all of a sudden begins to turn bright white. The added air into the product also adds volume and turns the candy into a much bigger piece.

Throughout the years, we have used both techniques. Most all of our taffy right now is made using the whipping process, but we made our name (and our Logo) by utilizing the Pulling Method. They both make a fantastic product, but as these older pulling machines get harder to find, new accommodations have been made. We are very lucky that our taffy is still just as great as it was in 1948. Most will tell you it is even MUCH better, and we are very proud of that!

Flavor and color: Once the taffy has been properly aerated, this is when flavor and color is added. Here at Zeno's, imaginations tend to go overboard during this process. You don't get to 100+ flavors without a great level of enthusiasm and let's admit it, some courage too. Our crew is constantly trying to come up with new flavors, and they do a really great job at it.

Cutting and Wrapping: Once the taffy has been flavored and colored, the candy is then taken to the cut wrap machine. We use 2 different machines. One is known as a Rose 503, and the other is known as a Forgrove 42C. Both of these machines take the taffy and wrap it at about 450 pieces per minute.

The taffy is then packaged and available for consumption to be sold to the public.