Hi everyone! If you know me, you know that Halloween and fall are my favorite times of the year! I love the cool crisp air, the changing leaves, Halloween decorations, spooky books and movies, and Halloween candy! Specifically Reece’s Pumpkins and candy corn. I know that candy corn is a controversial candy and that many people are not fans of it, but I love it, especially the pumpkins! I’m even eating some as I write this! I don’t know much about candy corn, except that it is delicious, so I thought this would be a great topic to bring back “The History of” posts! I’ve written another history post about kissing under the mistletoe if you want to check it out! This is the history of candy corn!

What is candy corn?

First off, what is candy corn? It’s a sugary, delicious candy made of sugar, corn syrup, fondant, and marshmallow creme along with other ingredients. The recipe has stayed similar to how it was when it was first invented. It used to take many workers to make the candy corn. They would heat together sugar, corn syrup, and other ingredients in a big pot, then add fondant and marshmallow to create a “slurry.” After everything was heated together and colored it was transferred into buckets that workers then walked backward to pour the mixture into molds with 3 different layers, making the iconic candy corn look. Since it took so much manpower to produce, it was mostly a seasonal candy.

Nowadays, machines make candy corn. To make the candy corn shape, corn starch molds are used and the “slurry” is still poured in one color at a time. The molds set, harden, then are polished before an edible wax is added to make them shine! Candy corn can be found year-round but with different colors and flavors. I prefer the classic candy corn to any other flavors and I only eat it around Halloween!

Where did candy corn originate?

Candy corn originated in the 1880’s, but not much more is confirmed after that. This was when many candy companies were making mellow creme creations of pumpkins, chestnuts, and other farming products. “Farmers made up about half of the American labor force, and companies marketed agriculture-themed candies to children in farm country all year round.”(History.com) It is believed that George Renninger, a Wunderlee Candy Company employee invented candy corn, but there’s no confirmation that he did.

It wasn’t until Goelitz Candy Company, now called the Jelly Belly Candy Company got the recipe that candy corn popularized. Candy corn was originally marketed as “Chicken Feed”, because before WWl corn was mostly given to livestock because corn was coarse and not very tasty. Thus used as chicken feed. It was sold as “Chicken Feed” in boxes with a rooster and the slogan was, “Something worth crowing for.” You can still find some companies using the rooster on their candy corn packaging today!

Candy corn wasn’t associated with Halloween until the 1940s and 1950s when trick-or-treating became popular. Before then it was a penny candy treat you could find during the fall. Fun fact, candy corn even has its own “day”, October 30th!

My Take on Everything

I’m really glad I looked up the history of candy corn because it was very fascinating! I think it’s very interesting that it used to be called “Chicken Feed” and I’d love to try and buy some candy corn that still uses the rooster on their packaging. Whether you love candy corn or absolutely hate it, whenever I see candy corn in grocery stores I know it’s my favorite time of year!

I hope you enjoyed learning about the history of candy corn! Did you know any of this? What other history posts would you like to see next? Let me know in the comments!

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Take care and stay safe,

Renée

Sources:
https://alwaysatreat.com/candy-moments/halloween-central/everything-candy-corn/
https://www.history.com/news/candy-corn-invented
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/candy-corn-facts-trivia-28951
https://www.bhg.com/halloween/recipes/the-history-of-candy-corn/