A Brief History Of Toffee

You know those fun little nuggets of trivia you come across about the origins of food? The Earl of Sandwich inventing sandwiches? The invention of the cheeseburger possibly taking place in New Haven, Connecticut? Weirdly, toffee doesn't have a clear origin. 

We're not even sure where the word originally came from. Some researchers claim it came from the Creole language and it was originally a mixture of sugar and molasses. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word first appeared on the scene around 1825. It was an English variation of taffy. But wait, it gets stranger! American and English toffee is different as well. While we both use buttery, chocolatey ingredients (and frequently with nuts), our English cousins prefer a chewier version, similar to salt water taffy. Americans might win bragging rights, though, since the hard toffee we know and love first appeared around 1817, whereas the chewy toffee didn't debut until the 1870's. And in order for toffee to reach that hard, crunchy texture, it needs to be heated to 300 to 310 degrees Fahrenheit, which is called the hard crack stage.

But regardless of which kind of homemade toffee, you prefer, we can all agree that this rich, nutty treat always has a home at our tables, especially during cold winter months. Since 2009, the expert confectioners at Toffee Talk have been providing us with the finest gourmet toffee. So visit us today and taste this mysterious and delicious treat for yourself!