There is a little bit of salt and some water in the recipe, but the name is mostly a mystery. What is known is that the confection was first made popular in the vacation areas of New Jersey in the late 19th century, and spread from there.

Here’s the best story anyone could come up with on the name:

A guy was selling his taffy in a little shop by the sea shore. There was a huge storm that flooded his shop. As he was cleaning up, a customer came by and asked if he had any taffy for sale. The guy responded with something like “yeah, but now it’s salt water taffy.” And the name stuck.

That’s probably not true, at least not exactly. But it’s all we’ve got, so we just have to go with it. Some guy tried to trademark the name in the 1920′s, but lost.

For the record, this recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 cup water for a batch.

Source: History Channel (Modern Marvels) show on Candy