Sweet Pete from Sweet Pete’s Candy joined Good Morning Jacksonville to teach you how to create your own version of the chocolate taffy at home.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — February 23 marks National Tootsie Roll Day, celebrating the chewy chocolate taffy candy.
According to Tootsie Roll Industries, the Tootsie Roll was invented by Leo Hirschfield in New York City in 1896, named after his daughter Tootsie. The candy was initially sold for one penny and the company is now headquartered in Chicago, distributing the candy worldwide.
To learn more about how the taffy is made, Good Morning Jacksonville went to our expert candy-maker, Sweet Pete, owner of Sweet Pete’s Candy, who taught the Good Morning Jacksonville crew how to create the candy at home.
‘Sweet Pete’ Behringer knows a lot about candy because chocolatiers raised him. When he was eleven years old, his mother opened a family chocolate business in Jacksonville, Florida, which grew to encompass 32 locations.
In 2010, Behringer branched out and opened his own candy shop in a whimsically decorated historic Florida home.
Sweet Pete’s offers a line of handcrafted chocolates and over a thousand different types of candies as well as interactive factory tours, hands-on candy-making classes, parties, and more.
You can visit Sweet Pete’s candy shop and restaurant at 400 North Hogan Street in downtown Jacksonville to sign up for its special candy-making classes.