Laffy Taffy
Laffy Taffy is a brand of taffy manufactured by Nestlé and sold under their Willy Wonka Candy Company brand. Laffy Taffy is a brand of candy first produced in the 1970s as "Beich's (Name of Flavor) Caramels", though in fact they were fruit-flavored taffy squares. The original company later changed the name of the product to "Beich's Laffy Taffy",[1] which occurred some years prior to the acquisition of distribution rights and later purchase of the product line by Nestlé. The candies are small (about 1.5 oz or 45 g) individually wrapped taffy available in a variety of artificial fruit flavors, as well as a chocolate mousse flavor. The candy was advertised as having a "long-lasting" flavor. In 2003, Wonka introduced a variety called "Flavor Flippers", a piece of taffy that had a soft center with a different flavor.
The name refers to both the texture of the taffy as well as its embodiment of silliness; jokes are written on the inside of each wrapper. For example: "What do you call a cow with no legs? -- Supper." Some jokes are pun-based, such as "What is Labor Day? -- That's when mommies have their babies." Other jokes are based on silly word play, such as "What's an owl's favorite subject? -- Owlgebra." These jokes are usually sent in by children who are credited on the wrapper. Laffy Taffy used to come in thick, square shaped pieces, but today, it is sold in thinner, rectangular shaped pieces. Laffy Taffy comes in many different colors and flavors, including green apple, strawberry, grape, banana, watermelon, blue raspberry and cherry. Rarer flavors include caramel apple, coconut, strawberries & cream, and pumpkin donut. Discontinued flavors include fruit punch, mango, strawberry banana, peppermint, chocolate, and hot cocoa.
Ingredients
Ingredients vary between flavors. The following ingredients are shown on wrappers or on the Willy Wonka website.
- Corn syrup and/or Sugar
- Hydrogenated coconut oil or palm oil
The following are less than 2%
- Malic acid
- Monoglycerides and diglycerides
- Hydrogenated cottonseed oil
- Salt
- Soy lecithin
- Artificial flavor
- Trans fat
The following depend on the flavors and colors
- Sugar
- Purple 29