Candy corn

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Candy corn

| image = Candy-Corn.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption =

| alternate_name =

| country = United States

| region = Cincinnati, Ohio

| course = Dessert, Candy, Snack

| type = Confectionery

| served =

| main_ingredient = Sugar, corn syrup, carnauba wax, artificial coloring and binders

| variations = cupid corn, bunny corn, harvest corn, reindeer corn

| calories =

| other =

}}

Candy corn is a small, pyramid-shaped candy, typically divided into three sections of different colors, with a waxy texture and a flavor based on honey, sugar, butter, and vanilla.{{Cite web|last=Pai|first=Tanya|date=2015-10-29|title=Candy corn: Halloween's most contentious sweet, explained|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/10/29/9633560/candy-corn-explained|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Vox|language=en|archive-date=2023-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204203707/https://www.vox.com/2015/10/29/9633560/candy-corn-explained|url-status=live}}{{Citation|last1=Hartel|first1=Richard W.|title=National Candy Corn Day|date=2014|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9383-9_26|work=Candy Bites: The Science of Sweets|pages=101–104|editor-last=Hartel|editor-first=Richard W.|place=New York, NY|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-9383-9_26|isbn=978-1-4614-9383-9|access-date=2020-10-12|last2=Hartel|first2=AnnaKate|editor2-last=Hartel|editor2-first=AnnaKate|archive-date=2024-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530030110/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-9383-9_26|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} It is a staple candy of the fall season and Halloween in North America.

Candy corn's traditional colors of yellow, orange, and white represent the colors of the fall harvest, or of corn on the cob,{{cite web|title=History of candy corn|url=http://www.spectatornews.com/showcase/2007/10/29/history-of-candy-corn/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920163417/https://www.spectatornews.com/showcase/2007/10/history-of-candy-corn/|archive-date=20 September 2020|access-date=5 October 2012|work=The Spectator|department=Showcase}} with the wide yellow end resembling a corn kernel.

Candy corn has a reputation for generating polarizing responses, with articles referring to it as "Halloween's most contentious sweet" which people either "love" or "hate".{{Cite web|last=Taylor|first=Elise|title=Candy Corn: You Either Love It or Hate It, There Is No In-Between|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/candy-corn-love-hate|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Vogue|date=20 October 2017|language=en-us|archive-date=2023-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006002736/https://www.vogue.com/article/candy-corn-love-hate|url-status=live}}

History

File:Original candy corn.jpg

"Chicken Feed" was the original candy name, with production starting in the late 1880s.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bhg.com/halloween/recipes/the-history-of-candy-corn/ |title=Broek, Sara. "The History of Candy Corn: A Halloween Candy Favorite", Better Homes and Gardens |access-date=2014-10-29 |archive-date=2023-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328215357/https://www.bhg.com/halloween/recipes/the-history-of-candy-corn/ |url-status=live }} It was first invented in the 1880s by a Wunderle Candy Company employee, George Renninger.{{Cite magazine|last=Waxman|first=Olivia B.|date=2013-10-30|title=A brief history of candy corn for Nat'l Candy Corn Day|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/30/an-oral-history-of-candy-corn-the-most-polarizing-confection-of-them-all/|access-date=2020-10-12|issn=0040-781X|archive-date=2020-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007153129/https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/30/an-oral-history-of-candy-corn-the-most-polarizing-confection-of-them-all/|url-status=live}} Wunderle Candy Company was the first to produce the candy in 1888.{{cite web |title=Wunderle's Candy: Our claim to fame |url=https://wunderlecandy.com/ |publisher=Wunderle's Candy |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807175910/https://wunderlecandy.com/ |url-status=dead }} The Goelitz Confectionery Company, now called Jelly Belly, began manufacturing the product in 1898.{{Cite web|last=Schmidt|first=Ann|date=2019-10-30|title=Candy corn sales expected to top $73M: How Halloween's controversial treat got its start|url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/candy-corn-what-to-know-halloween|access-date=2020-10-12|website=FOXBusiness|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029124700/https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/candy-corn-what-to-know-halloween|url-status=live}}

While Jelly Belly still makes candy corn, the largest manufacturer of candy corn is Brach's Confections owned by the Ferrara Candy Company. Brach's makes approximately 7 billion pieces of candy corn per year and possesses 85 percent of the total share of the candy corn industry during the Halloween season.

Along with other agriculture-inspired treats in the late 19th century, America's confectioners sought to market candy corn to a largely rural society.{{cite web|last1=Lewis|first1=Danny|title=Candy Corn Hasn't Changed Since the 19th Century|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/candy-corn-hasnt-changed-19th-century-180957107/|website=Smithsonian.com|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=21 September 2017|archive-date=6 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006001820/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/candy-corn-hasnt-changed-19th-century-180957107/|url-status=live}} During the late 19th century, "butter cream" candies molded into many types of nature-inspired shapes, including chestnuts, turnips, and clover leaves, were quite popular but what made candy corn stand out was its bright and iconic tri-color layering.{{Cite web|last=Kawash|first=Samira|date=2010-10-30|title=Where Our Love/Hate Relationship With Candy Corn Comes From|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/10/where-our-love-hate-relationship-with-candy-corn-comes-from/65428/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007032211/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/10/where-our-love-hate-relationship-with-candy-corn-comes-from/65428/|url-status=live}}

Although it is currently most popular in the fall, candy corn was only sometimes associated with the fall and Halloween seasons. For the first half of the 20th century, candy corn was a well-known "penny candy" or bulk confectionery. It was advertised as an affordable and popular treat that could be eaten year-round.

Candy corn developed into a fall and Halloween staple around the 1950s when people began to hand out individually wrapped candy to trick-or-treaters. The harvest-themed colors and increased advertising in October also helped candy corn become a fall staple.

The National Confectioners Association has deemed October 30, the day before Halloween, "National Candy Corn Day".

Sales

{{As of|2016}}, annual production in the United States was 35 million pounds, or almost 9 billion pieces of candy. The majority of candy corn sales occur during the Halloween season.

Production

Originally, the candy was made by hand.{{cite web |title=What is Candy Corn and How is it Made? |url=http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/candy-corn.htm |work=howstuffworks.com |access-date=15 October 2009 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927050925/https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/candy-corn.htm |url-status=live }} Manufacturers first combined sugar, corn syrup and water, and cooked them to form a slurry. Fondant was added for texture and marshmallows were added to provide a soft bite. The final mixture was heated and poured into shaped molds. Three passes, one for each colored section, were required during the pouring process.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

The recipe is similar today. The production method, called "corn starch modeling",{{cite news|last=Saeger|first=Natalie|date=29 October 2007|work=The Spectator|title=History of candy corn. With new colors and flavors, it is a treat for all seasons.|department=Showcase|access-date=5 October 2012|url=http://www.spectatornews.com/showcase/2007/10/29/history-of-candy-corn/|archive-date=20 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920163417/https://www.spectatornews.com/showcase/2007/10/history-of-candy-corn/|url-status=live}} likewise remains the same, though tasks initially performed by hand were soon taken over by machines made for that purpose.{{cite web |title=Candy Corn Bulk Candy |url=http://www.candyfavorites.com/Candy-Corn-Bulk-Candy-pr-1303.html |work=Candyfavorites.com |access-date=4 October 2009 |archive-date=27 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327234621/http://www.candyfavorites.com/Candy-Corn-Bulk-Candy-pr-1303.html |url-status=live }}

=Ingredients=

Candy corn is made with sugar, corn syrup, salt, sesame oil, honey, artificial flavor, food colorings, gelatin, and confectioner's glaze. The confectioner's glaze is made from lac resin, a bug secretion.{{cite news |last=Snider |first=Mike |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/10/15/halloween-candy-corn-iconic-treat/71146047007/ |title=The origins of candy corn: A divisive delicacy, destined to be a Halloween tradition |work=USA Today |date=2023-10-15 |accessdate=2023-10-15 |archive-date=2023-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015203056/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/10/15/halloween-candy-corn-iconic-treat/71146047007/ |url-status=live }}

Variants

File:Easter candy corn (6918360384).jpg

File:Oreo Cookies Candy Corn (13982361173).jpg

A popular variation called "harvest corn" adds cocoa powder;{{cite web |title=Brach Harvest Corn product description |url=https://www.brachs.com/products/halloween/harvest-corn.html |access-date=2021-10-10 |archive-date=2021-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010213010/https://www.brachs.com/products/halloween/harvest-corn.html |url-status=dead }} it features a chocolate brown wide end, orange center, and pointed white tip. It is often available around Thanksgiving. During the Halloween season, blackberry cobbler candy corn can be found in Eastern Canada, as well as candy corn shaped like pumpkins. Confectioners have introduced additional color variations suited to other holidays.

The Christmas variant, sometimes called "reindeer corn",{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/10/health/strange-facts-about-candy-corn/index.html|title=5 strange facts about candy corn|author1=Griggs, Brandon|author2=Maxouris, Christina|date=10 October 2016|work=CNN|access-date=31 October 2018|archive-date=15 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115090214/https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/10/health/strange-facts-about-candy-corn/index.html|url-status=live}} typically has a red end and a green center. The Valentine's Day variant, sometimes called "cupid corn",{{Cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/candy-corn-facts_n_5961586.html |title=Jacques, Renee. "10 Things You Never Knew About Candy Corn, The Candy You Love To Hate", Huffington Post, October 17, 2014 |website=HuffPost |date=17 October 2014 |access-date=October 29, 2014 |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529024500/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/candy-corn-facts_n_5961586.html |url-status=live }} typically has a red end and a pink center. In the United States during Independence Day celebrations, corn with a blue end, white center, and red tip, named "freedom corn", can be found at celebratory cook outs and patriotic celebrations. The Easter variant, sometimes called "bunny corn", is typically a two-color candy, and comes with a variety of pastel bases, pink, green, yellow, and purple, with white tips all in one package.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

There have been caramel apple and green apple, s'mores and pumpkin spice, carrot corn (green and orange, with a carrot cake flavor), and birthday cake candy corn flavors.{{cn|date=August 2024}} In 2022, Brach's released a tailgate variant with fruit punch, vanilla ice cream, popcorn, hotdog, and hamburger flavored pieces.{{Cite web |title=Hot Dog-Flavored Candy Corn Is Part of This New 'Tailgate' Mix |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/news/tailgate-candy-corn-hot-dog-hamburger-flavors-brachs |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Food & Wine |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101140247/https://www.foodandwine.com/news/tailgate-candy-corn-hot-dog-hamburger-flavors-brachs |url-status=live }}

Candy corn flavored snacks have become more widely available with candy corn flavored variants of snack foods and candy, including Oreos, M&M's, marshmallows, and more.