Baños is famous throughout Ecuador for taffy-like sugar candy called melcocha (or taffy de Baños). At several shops along Calle Ambato and the surrounding streets, you can watch the candy being made — a process that involves stretching hot sugar paste on large iron hooks bolted to the wall, pulling and twisting it repeatedly until it aerates and turns white. The spectacle draws small crowds throughout the day.
The candy itself is flavoured with anise or other local flavourings and comes in small twists. It is sweet and chewy, and while the taste is straightforward, watching the making of it is a genuinely good piece of street theatre. Most vendors let you taste before you buy. Melcocha is the standard souvenir from Baños and keeps for a reasonable time in its paper wrapper.