(LOOTPRESS) – Every Halloween, a familiar debate returns to the candy aisle: Is candy corn a seasonal treasure or the treat best left at the bottom of the bowl?
The little white, orange and yellow kernels have inspired devoted fans and vocal critics for generations. But before candy corn became a Halloween staple, it was a farm-themed confection sold under a decidedly less appetizing name: “Chicken Feed.”
Candy corn’s origins are generally traced to the 1880s. George Renninger, an employee of Philadelphia’s Wunderle Candy Company, is widely credited with creating it, although the precise details of its invention remain uncertain. At the time, candy makers produced sweets shaped like agricultural products, including pumpkins, chestnuts and turnips, appealing to a country with a large farming population.
The Goelitz company, which later became known as Jelly Belly, helped popularize candy corn beginning in 1898. Its “Chicken Feed” branding played on the candy’s resemblance to corn kernels, with early packaging featuring a rooster. According to the Library of Congress, the candy initially had a broader autumn and harvest association. Its connection to Halloween strengthened as trick-or-treating became more popular during the 1950s.
Making the colorful kernels once required considerable work. Workers poured successive layers of candy mixture into molds made in cornstarch. Machines now handle the layering, but the recognizable three-color design remains. After cooling, the pieces receive an edible glaze that gives them their shine.
That familiar appearance helps explain why people keep buying it.
Melissa Wright, of Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology, said in a university article that nostalgia is a major part of candy corn’s appeal. Its colors signal fall, while its seasonal presence gives shoppers another reason to bring home a bag.
For some, the attraction is the candy itself. Wright described its relatively simple vanilla and marshmallow flavors as appealing amid sweets with more complicated flavor combinations. For others, that same sweetness becomes overwhelming because there is little contrasting flavor to balance it.
Texture is another dividing line.
Fans enjoy the soft, chewy center and firmer exterior. Critics describe the experience as waxy or unpleasant. University of Georgia food scientist William Kerr compared its consistency to a firm marshmallow and described its flavor as falling along a spectrum of sugar, butter, honey and vanilla.
In other words, the qualities that draw one person to the candy bowl can send another reaching for chocolate.
Candy corn also occupies a different place in Halloween traditions than individually wrapped treats. Often sold loose in bags, it is better suited to a dish on a desk or a bowl at a party than handing out at the front door, Wright noted. Its role as a seasonal display may help keep it around even in households where enthusiasm for eating it is limited.
More than a century after its introduction, candy corn still gets a reaction. Whether that reaction is reaching for another handful or passing the bowl to someone else depends on who is doing the tasting.
