Turkish Taffy - History

History

Originally distributed through Woolworth's stores in large sheets from which pieces were broken off with a ball-peen hammer at the counter and sold by weight, in the late 1940s the company released a version in candy-bar size which the purchaser could whack against a hard surface to break into bite-sized pieces. This property of being shattered or broken by sudden shock, but still pliable and soft when chewed is possible because the candy is a non-Newtonian fluid. Since the pieces were both chewy and slow-melting in the mouth, it was a favorite for the frugal customer. A bar still cost 5ยข in the 1960s. By that time, it was marketed by Gold Medal Candy Corporation of Brooklyn, New York.

In 1949, Turkish Taffy became one of the first forms of candy advertised and marketed on television, when Bonomo created and sponsored The Magic Clown on NBC Television. Tico Bonomo specifically cited the decision to use television as instrumental in the popularity of the candy-bar sized taffys.

In 1980 the candy became part of the Tootsie Roll Industries of Chicago line of candies, and it was discontinued in 1989.

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