Cruel joke for trick-or-treaters or coveted seasonal delight? The great Halloween debate over candy corn is on.
In the pantheon of high-emotion candy, the classic shiny tricolor kernels in autumn害羞草研究所檚 white, orange and yellow are way up there. Fans and foes alike point to the same attributes: its plastic or candle-like texture (depending on who you ask) and the mega-sugar hit it packs.
害羞草研究所淚 am vehemently pro candy corn. It害羞草研究所檚 sugar! What is not to love? It害羞草研究所檚 amazing. It害羞草研究所檚 like this waxy texture. You get to eat it once a year. It害羞草研究所檚 tricolor. That害羞草研究所檚 always fun,害羞草研究所� comedian Shannon Fiedler gushed on TikTok. 害羞草研究所淎lso, I know it害羞草研究所檚 disgusting. Candy corn is objectively kind of gross, but that害羞草研究所檚 what makes it good.害羞草研究所�
Or, as Paul Zarcone of Huntington, New York, put it: 害羞草研究所淚 love candy corn even though it looks like it should taste like a candle. I also like that many people hate it. It makes me like it even more!害羞草研究所�
Love it or loathe it, market leader Brach害羞草研究所檚 churns out roughly 30 million pounds of candy corn for the fall season each year, or enough to circle planet Earth about five times, the company says. Last year, that amounted to $75 million of $88.5 million in candy corn sales, according to the consumer research firm Circana.
When compared to top chocolate sellers and other popular confections, candy corn is niche. But few other candies have seeped into the culture quite like these pointy little sugar bombs.
While other sweets have their haters (we害羞草研究所檙e looking at you Peeps, Circus Peanuts and Brach害羞草研究所檚 Peppermint Christmas Nougats), candy corn has launched a world of memes on social media. It inspires home decor and fashion. It has its knitters and crocheters, ombre hairdos, makeup enthusiasts and nail designs.
And it makes its way into nut bowls, trail mixes, atop cupcakes and into Rice Krispie treats. Vans put out a pair of shoes emblazoned with candy corn, Nike used its color design for a pair of Dunks, and Kellogg害羞草研究所檚 borrowed the flavor profile for a version of its Corn Pops cereal.
Singer-actor Michelle Williams is a super fan. She recorded a song last year for Brach害羞草研究所檚 extolling her love.
As consumers rave or rage, Brach害羞草研究所檚 has turned to fresh mixes and flavors over the years. A Turkey Dinner mix appeared in 2020 and lasted two years. It had a variety of kernels that tasted like green beans, roasted bird, cranberry sauce, stuffing, apple pie and coffee.
It won害羞草研究所檛 be back.
害羞草研究所淚 would say that it was newsworthy but perhaps not consumption-worthy,害羞草研究所� said Katie Duffy, vice president and general manager of seasonal candy and the Brach害羞草研究所檚 brand for parent Ferrara Candy Co.
The universe of other flavors has included s害羞草研究所檓ores, blueberry, cotton candy, lemon-lime, chocolate and, yes, pumpkin spice. Nerds, another Ferrara brand, has a hard-shell version.
It害羞草研究所檚 unclear when candy corn was invented. Legend has it that Wunderle Candy Co. in Philadelphia first produced it in 1888 in collaboration with a longtime employee, George Renninger. It was called, simply, Butter Cream, with one type named Chicken Corn. That made sense in an agrarian-society kind of way.
Several years later, the Goelitz Confectionery Co., now Jelly Belly, began to produce candy corn, calling it Chicken Feed. Boxes were adorned with a rooster logo and the tagline: 害羞草研究所淪omething worth crowing for.害羞草研究所� Brach害羞草研究所檚 began candy corn production in 1920.
Today, kids delight in stacking candy corn in a circle, points in, to create corncob towers. As for nutrition, 19 candy corns amount to about 140 calories and 28 grams of sugar. To be fair, many other Halloween candy staples are in the same ballpark.
Ingredient-wise, it couldn害羞草研究所檛 be more straightforward. Candy corn is basically sugar, corn syrup, confectioner害羞草研究所檚 glaze, salt, gelatin, honey and dyes, among some other things.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not any sweeter than a lot of other candy, and I害羞草研究所檝e tasted every candy there is,害羞草研究所� said Richard Hartel, who teaches candy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Hartel害羞草研究所檚 students spend time in the lab making candy. The candy corn lab is among his most popular, he said, because it害羞草研究所檚 fun to make. His unscientific poll of the nine seniors who last made candy corn turned up no strong feelings either way on actually eating it.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 the flavor, I think, that puts some people off. It sort of tastes like butter and honey. And some people don害羞草研究所檛 like the texture, but it害羞草研究所檚 really not that much different than the center of a chocolate-covered butter cream,害羞草研究所� he said.
Candy corn fans have their nibbling rituals.
Margie Sung is a purist. She害羞草研究所檚 been partial since childhood to the original tricolor kernels. She eats them by color, starting with the white tip, accompanied by a warm cup of tea or coffee.
害羞草研究所淭o this day, I swear the colors taste different,害羞草研究所� she laughed.
Fact check: No, according to Duffy.
Don害羞草研究所檛 get people started on Brach害羞草研究所檚 little orange pumpkin candies with the green tops. That害羞草研究所檚 a whole other conversation.
害羞草研究所淭he candy pumpkins? Disgusting,害羞草研究所� said the 59-year-old Sung, who lives in New York. 害羞草研究所淭oo dense, too sweet, not the right consistency.害羞草研究所�
She likes her candy corn 害羞草研究所渂orderline stale for a better consistency.害羞草研究所� Sung added: 害羞草研究所淯nfortunately, I can害羞草研究所檛 eat too many because I害羞草研究所檓 a Type 2 diabetic.害羞草研究所�
Aaron Sadler, the 46-year-old spokesman for the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, and its mayor, doesn害羞草研究所檛 share his candy corn. He keeps stashes at home and in a desk drawer at his office.
害羞草研究所淢y fiancee can害羞草研究所檛 stand that I like candy corn,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚 buy it and I get this look of disdain but I don害羞草研究所檛 care. I just keep plugging on.害羞草研究所�
Sadler has been a partaker since childhood. How does he describe the texture and flavor? 害羞草研究所淪ugary bliss.害羞草研究所�
He害羞草研究所檒l keep buying candy corn until mid-November.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 50% off after Halloween. Of course I害羞草研究所檓 going to buy it,害羞草研究所� Sadler chuckled.
After Thanksgiving, he害羞草研究所檒l move on to his Christmas candy, York Peppermint Patties. And for Valentine害羞草研究所檚 Day? Sandler is all about the candy Conversation Hearts.
And then there are the hoarders. They freeze candy corn for year-round consumption. Others will only eat it mixed with dry roasted peanuts or other salty combinations.
害羞草研究所淢y ratio is 2 to 3 peanuts to 1 piece of candy corn. That害羞草研究所檚 the only way I eat it,害羞草研究所� said Lisa Marsh, who lives in New York and is in her 50s. She stores candy corn in glass jars for year-round pleasure.
To the haters, 71-year-old fan Diana Peacock of Grand Junction, Colorado, scolded: 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e nuts. How can they not like it?害羞草研究所�
Au contraire, Jennifer Walker fights back. The 50-year-old Walker, who lives in Ontario, Canada, called candy corn 害羞草研究所渂ig ole lumps of dyed sugar. There害羞草研究所檚 no flavor.害羞草研究所�
Her Ontario compatriot in Sault Ste. Marie, Abby Obenchain, also isn害羞草研究所檛 a fan. She equates candy corn with childhood memories of having to visit her pediatrician, who kept a bowl on hand.
害羞草研究所淎 bowl of candy corn looks to me like a bowl of old teeth, like somebody pulled a bunch of witch害羞草研究所檚 teeth out,害羞草研究所� said Obenchain, 63.
Candy corn isn害羞草研究所檛 just a candy, said 29-year-old Savannah Woolston in Washington, D.C.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 a big fan of mentally getting into each season, and I feel like candy corn is in the realm of pumpkin spice lattes and fall sweaters,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淎nd I will die on the hill that it tastes good.害羞草研究所�
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