Smack it, crack it — and then let it melt in your mouth. But here's the thing most people get wrong about Turkish Taffy: the man who invented it wasn't named Bonomo at all.
Quick answer: Turkish Taffy is a hard, brittle taffy bar that you smack against a flat surface to shatter into shards, then let melt in your mouth. It was invented by Herman Herer in 1912 — not by Victor Bonomo, as most people assume — after he accidentally added too many egg whites to a batch of marshmallow candy. The Bonomo family of Coney Island bought the business in 1936 and made it famous, and despite being discontinued for decades, Bonomo's Turkish Taffy is made and sold again today in vanilla, chocolate, banana, and strawberry.
Turkish Taffy timeline at a glance
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1912 | Herman Herer invents Turkish Taffy by accident — too many egg whites in a marshmallow batch |
| 1910s–20s | M. Schwarz & Sons buys the business and renames it "Turkish Chewing Taffy" |
| 1936 | The Bonomo family of Coney Island buys the business and drops "Chewing" from the name |
| 1946 | Bonomos trademark "Bonomo's Turkish Taffy" and "Turkish Taffy" after a court battle |
| Late 1940s | Gold Medal Candy Corp. launches the 5¢ wrapped bar; "Crack It Up!" becomes the slogan |
| 1980 | Tootsie Roll Industries buys the brand, reformulates it as a soft taffy — discontinued 1989 |
| 2002 | Kenny Wiesen and Jerry Sweeney acquire the Bonomo Turkish Taffy brand |
| 2010 | Turkish Taffy relaunches at the NCA Sweets & Snacks Show in Chicago |
| Today | Made in York, Pennsylvania, to the original smack-it-crack-it formula |
It started with a kitchen mistake in 1912
Contrary to popular misinformation, Turkish Taffy was not invented by Victor Bonomo (pronounced "Bah nah moe"). It was invented by Herman Herer, pictured here, in 1912.
Herman was making a batch of marshmallow candy when he accidentally added too many egg whites. Instead of dumping the whole mess, he tasted it — and realized he might be onto something. After a lot of experimenting and testing, he had a brand-new confection on his hands and called it "Turkish Taffy."
Here's the part that still frustrates candy historians: nobody actually knows why Herman chose that name, or how he first sold and marketed it. There's no Turkish recipe behind it and no Turkish connection to the man himself. The name is one of candy's great unsolved mysteries.
Elves, kettles, and the Schwarz years
Several years later, Herman's business was bought out by M. Schwarz & Sons, and Herman went to work for them, continuing to perfect his recipe. Schwarz renamed the product "Turkish Chewing Taffy" and sold it with charming miniature elf figures in chef hats, shown cooking the taffy over fire-heated open kettles. If you've ever seen that artwork on a vintage tin or trade ad, that's where it comes from.
The Bonomos' big break
In 1936, Schwarz & Sons sold the business to the Bonomo family of Coney Island, New York. Their first move was a smart one: drop the word "Chewing" and just call it Turkish Taffy. Before long, Turkish Taffy and Bonomo's were so intertwined that most people simply called it Bonomo's Turkish Taffy. After a battle in the U.S. Court of Customs & Patents, the family trademarked both "Bonomo's Turkish Taffy" and "Turkish Taffy" starting in 1946.
At first, the taffy was sold only to concessionaires on the Coney Island boardwalk. Enter Joe Bonomo — professional football player, bodybuilder, and the man pictured here — who landed the deal that changed everything: getting Bonomo's Turkish Taffy into the F.W. Woolworth Company's 5 & 10¢ stores. It was sold in mass quantities as large rectangular blocks, and clerks would take a ball-peen hammer to the big taffy sheets, whacking off shards that were sold by the pound.
"CRACK IT UP!" — how the bar was born
During World War II, Victor renamed Bonomo and Sons to the Gold Medal Candy Corporation. After the sugar rationing of the late 1940s eased, Joe Bonomo started cutting the blocks into large candy bars wrapped in wax paper, reusing the friendly figures and imagery from the Schwarz era. The bars sold for a nickel and came in vanilla only. Handing customers a wrapped bar meant they got to break up the taffy themselves — and "Crack It Up" became the tag line that stuck.
Sales were terrific — except in summer. Heat turned the taffy soft and pliable, and customers who expected a satisfying shatter were confused and annoyed. The fix was an innovative foil wrapper, printed with specific eating instructions: "CRACK IT UP! — HOLD BAR IN PALM OF HAND — STRIKE AGAINST FLAT SURFACE — LET IT MELT IN YOUR MOUTH." Sometime after that, Gold Medal expanded the flavor line to include peanut butter, chocolate, strawberry, and banana. Easy-to-eat bite-size pieces in wax paper twists joined the lineup too.
Tootsie Roll's big mistake
In 1980, Tootsie Roll Industries bought the brand — and then made a decision that fans have never forgiven. They abandoned the decades-old smack-it, crack-it formula in favor of a soft taffy, dropped the "Turkish Taffy" name, and changed the ingredients, packaging, and shape. The result was rebranded Soft and Chewy Tootsie Taffy, it never caught on, and the line was discontinued in 1989. The original was simply gone.
The fans cry out!
But the demand for Turkish Taffy never ended. Fans organized petitions calling for its return. Blogs and discussion groups sprang up across the early internet, dedicated to swapping memories of the taffy and complaining loudly about not being able to buy it. After years of trying, Kenny Wiesen and Jerry Sweeney finally succeeded in acquiring Bonomo Turkish Taffy in 2002.
Then came the hard part. Kenny and Jerry spent a considerable amount of time and effort getting the formula back to its original smack-it, crack-it consistency — not a modern approximation, the real thing. Bonomo Turkish Taffy, LLC relaunched the taffy in the summer of 2010, introducing it at the largest candy show in the world, the NCA (National Confectioners Association) Sweets & Snacks Show in Chicago.
Today, Bonomo Turkish Taffy is produced in York, Pennsylvania, made exactly the way it was between the 1940s and 1980. Yeah!
Why this old-school taffy matters right now
Turkish Taffy's revival turned out to be a preview of where the whole candy business was headed. Nostalgic candy is booming: retro wrappers go viral on social media, adults are buying the sweets of their childhood to share with their own kids, and specialty companies now make a living buying up orphaned brands and rebuilding the original recipes. Bonomo's was one of the first and best examples — a candy that came back because the fans refused to let it go. If you want the rest of that story, we covered it in Candy Comebacks: 7 Discontinued Treats That Came Back From the Dead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented Turkish Taffy?
Herman Herer invented Turkish Taffy in 1912, after accidentally adding too many egg whites to a batch of marshmallow candy. Victor Bonomo is often given credit, but the Bonomo family didn't acquire the business until 1936.
Why is it called Turkish Taffy?
Nobody knows for sure. There's no Turkish recipe behind it and no documented Turkish connection to Herman Herer — the origin of the name has been lost to history.
Is Bonomo's Turkish Taffy still made?
Yes! Tootsie Roll bought the brand in 1980 and discontinued it in 1989. It was acquired by new owners in 2002 and relaunched in 2010. It's made today in York, Pennsylvania, to the original formula. You can buy Bonomo's Turkish Taffy here.
How are you supposed to eat Turkish Taffy?
Follow the original foil-wrapper instructions: hold the bar in the palm of your hand, strike it against a flat surface to shatter it, then let the shards melt in your mouth. Chilling the bar first makes it crack even better.
What flavors does Bonomo's Turkish Taffy come in?
The current lineup is vanilla, chocolate, banana, and strawberry. The historic Gold Medal line also included a peanut butter flavor.
Where can you buy Bonomo's Turkish Taffy?
At Bulk Candy Store, of course! We stock all your favorite flavors — vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and banana — or grab the whole Bonomo Turkish Taffy collection at once. While you're here, browse our other taffy and nostalgic candy, and go crack open a piece of candy history!