Salt Water Taffy and Nougat Production

Confectionery Aeration taffy unless it will stretch a mini- mum of 18 inches.” On the other hand, if the product has too severe cold flow characteristics, it will leak out of the wrap and cause problems Salt Water Taffy and for the retailer and the consumer. If the product has insufficient corn syrup, however, it will become short and the eating quality drops significantly. Nougat Production Sugar The higher the sugar content, the higher the degree of grain. There- fore in a chewy, stretchy taffy, there affy and nougat confections can and are used throughout the will be less sugar than in a grained Thave been around for as long as industry, aeration methods and nougat type confection. most of us can remember and con- whipping agents and some problem Regular granulated sugar, usually jure up memories of our childhood. areas and ways to avoid them. fine, is completely satisfactory for Some may remember hand pulling a BASIC INGREDIENTS this product family. It provides body special recipe of Grandma’s, which and sweetness to the candy and is probably contained molasses, and Let’s begin with the basic ingredi- essential to the product. It also wrapping it by hand in wax paper. ents for taffy. They include corn reduces the overall DE and helps, as Others recall the State Fair with the syrup, granulated sugar, whipping it does in almost all other confec- trailer producing vanilla taffy right agents, fats and table salt. (For those tions, in reducing inversion and the in front of your eyes. Others have of you who have had the opportuni- problems associated with it. memories of resort areas, such as ty to see, and even more important- Florida, Gatlinburg, Mackinaw ly taken a whiff of the Great Salt Fats Island, Estes Park, Colorado, the Lake, I would like to take this Hardened fats are used to reduce Boardwalk in New Jersey or some chance to assure you that my com- stickiness, add shear when cutting pany does not use this water mass as other faraway place that the family and to act as a lubricant so that the our source of salt in the formula.) passed through or ended up on one candy will release from the wrap- A general formula for taffy would of those notorious family vacations. ping paper when the consumer be somewhat similar to the following: The fact is that taffy, especially salt opens it. water taffy, has been around for a Corn syrup 60-63% In most cases soy and coconut oils can be interchanged in the above long time and most if not all of you Sugar 28-32% Whipping agent 0.5-1.0% formula for taffy. Many companies have at least tasted a variation of Fat 4-8% have produced in the past a label this confection. Salt 0.1-0.5% which indicates the use of either/or. We will be taking a look at ingre- In most cases, 42 DE corn syrup is This, however, is becoming more dients used to produce taffy and preferred. Some may recommend difficult, if not impossible, with the nougat, the varying processes that low DE syrup (36) but for this par- introduction of nutritional labeling ticular product we will want as ten- and so we are as an industry, going der a piece as possible without to one or the other of these fats. becoming too sticky; therefore, I They both produce an end product would recommend the use of 42. which is satisfactory and the differ- Since one of the problems, which we ence to most consumers is indistin- will be discussing later, is stickiness, guishable. To the discreet palate, it would be anti-productive to however, the difference may be increase the dextrose equivalent of more obvious. Soy fats tend to leave this product. Actually, this ingredi- a more distinct film on the roof of ent has more to do with making the mouth than the coconut oils. taffy the correct consistency than Melting point is an issue with this any of the others. The finished prod- ingredient. Generally a 92 degree uct should have considerable fat will be sufficient and provides John Cooke “stretch” characteristics. In fact, the the results expected. During hot Sweet Candy Company old timers at our facility say “It’s not summer months, a higher melting Presented at the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners’ Association 49th Annual Production Conference. 106 May 1995/The Manufacturing Confectioner.

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