How Many Calories Are in Salt Water Taffy?

Saltwater taffy is a snack/candy that can be traced back to the late 1800s. It originated on the beachfront vacation scene of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is available in many different flavors; however, these variations have no significant impact on its nutritional value. While each candy manufacturer stands by their own recipe, this also does not significantly change to its nutritional value.

Serving Size

  • A reasonable suggested serving size of taffy is 40 g. Those 40 g (varying by make/brand) contain between 150 and 180 calories.

Determine Your Serving

  • Saltwater taffy comes in many different shapes and sizes, so finding your personal serving can be rather difficult. Most brands find this serving to lie between four to seven pieces. The smaller one-inch pieces of taffy fall more towards the higher end of the count, while you can only eat four of the three-inch pieces.

Source of Calories

  • The calorie-bearing ingredients that make up saltwater taffy are sugar based with the sole exception of a small amount of butter that is added to the mixture. The majority of the calories are attributed to the 36 to 38 g of carbohydrates in the candy. This makes up 90 percent of the caloric value of the taffy.

Rest of the Calories

  • The added butter contributes 1.5 to 2 g of fat depending on the recipe used. The fat holds only 10 percent of the caloric content of saltwater taffy.

Sugar-Free Varieties

  • Sugar-free varieties are available from many manufacturers. These cut the caloric value of each serving almost in half, bringing it to 90 calories. The carbohydrate count in the taffy is also cut down by a third, bringing it to 24 to 27 g.