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Happy Halloween, Top Commenteers!
As you may know, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I'm generally a fan of spookiness and things that go bump in the night, so perhaps it's natural that I like Halloween so much. But also, as a former fat kid and current fat kid at heart, I was (and am) all about that Halloween candy.
We all have our favorites. When I trick-or-treated, I was always appreciative when people stuck Snickers bars in my bag. Those were the crown jewels of Halloween candy as far as I was concerned, closely followed by Reese's cups. Unfortunately for me, most houses did not give out the good stuff. More often, I was stuck with M&M's (and not even the peanut kind...seriously, fuck your non-peanut M&M's), Starburst, and Nerds. Even worse were the houses that handed out the hard candy that you might expect to find in a jar at your grandma's house, mixed in with the sugar-free Werther's.
But at the very top of my list of hated Halloween candy was the ubiquitous candy corn. Unlike the candy listed above, I did not even deem candy corn fit for human consumption. I was a human garbage disposal--I would eat everything. But not candy corn. You'd might as well put rocks or dried cat poop in my bag. Every year, my mom bought a bag of candy corn and mellowcreme pumpkins around Halloween time and put it all in a jar on the kitchen counter. The mellowcreme pumpkins vanished rather quickly, leaving a jar full of candy corn that nobody wanted, candy corn that would remain in the jar long beyond staleness. For years, it never occurred to me that there were people in the world who actually liked candy corn.
Just a quick search on the Internet confirms that candy corn haters are far from alone. A Vox article on the subject rounds up a few hilarious tweets that also happen to be oh so accurate. This isn't just a matter of not preferring candy corn. It is a matter of loathing it.
But yes, there are people in the world who disagree, as inconceivable as that is to me. And, as it turns out, the difference of opinion with regard to candy corn is largely generational.
Like so many terrible things, candy corn came about in the 19th century. In the 1880s, candymaker George Renninger is said to have developed the recipe, which was picked up in 1898 by the Goelitz Confectionary Company. Fittingly, it was originally called "Chicken Feed." And it was popular year-round:
The original candy corn wasn’t targeted at trick-or-treaters. Though Halloween has a centuries’-long tradition of costumes, pranks, and treat-begging, in the United States the annual practice of trotting from door to door collecting candy only took off in force in the late 1940s, with the lifting of World War II sugar rations. Instead, as Chicken Feed, candy corn was intended to appeal to Americans’ largely agricultural roots. At the turn of the 20th century, the country was still largely rural, and about half the nation’s labor force lived on farms. Confectioners, hoping to tie in to the farm-and-harvest spirit, also turned out candy pumpkins, turnips, chestnuts, and clover leaves. The original candy corn was touted as a treat to be eaten all year round.
Goelitz later became the familiar Jelly Belly Candy Company, and it continues to produce candy corn. The largest producer of candy corn, however, is Brach's. The basic recipe for candy corn has remained largely the same since the 19th century, although the process is obviously automated today. From Vox:
The ingredients in candy corn from Brach's, the largest manufacturer of the stuff, are: sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s glaze, salt, dextrose, gelatin, sesame oil, artificial flavor, honey, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, and Red 3. A serving size is 19 pieces and contains 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 28 grams of sugar, and 70 milligrams of sodium.
Better Homes and Gardens has more on how candy corn is made (surprisingly, it is not simply mined from Satan's ears):
Candy corn starts as a mixture of sugar, fondant, corn syrup, vanilla flavor, and marshmallow creme. This mixture is melted into liquid candy, called slurry, and is colored and run through a cornstarch molding process to create each kernel. Wooden trays filled with cornstarch are imprinted with rows of candy corn molds where the layers are individually deposited from bottom to top.
The mixture cools in the tray, which seals the three layers together. The kernels of candy corn are sifted from the trays and polished in large drumpans with edible wax and glaze to create its irresistible, hand-grabbable shine.
Clearly, candy corn was not always so polarizing. So why do so many people, your diarist included, hate it today?
An article in Adweek theorizes:
Candy corn's waxy sweetness is as compulsively tasty to some as it is instantly repugnant to others—but how to account for the difference? Phil Lempert, aka The Supermarket Guru, believes that candy corn is the confectionary expression of a generational divide. "There's no question that candy corn is iconic for the baby boomer who grew up looking forward to the once-a-year Halloween treat," he said. "The question is whether it is still as relevant today for millennials and Gen Z."
In other words, if you grew up during candy corn's heyday in the 1950s and '60s, you're probably more inclined to like it than today's kids, raised on a Halloween diet heavy on Skittles and Starburst.
So, if candy corn's core fans are aging out, does Jelly Belly see a day when the production lines will stop? "No, we don't," Perry said firmly. "We're big candy corn fans, and we know there are a lot of customers out there who are, too." In fact, even candy corn's foes still have an interest in its survival. A recent NCA survey revealed that well over half of Americans believe that "it's just not Halloween" without the stuff.
Despite the controversial nature of candy corn, it continues to be a popular Halloween candy. In fact, it is the second-most popular (behind chocolate)--although, it should be noted that chocolate stands at 70 percent popularity, with candy corn lagging behind at 13 percent, according to the National Confectioners Association. In polling, five states--Oregon, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Carolina, and Texas (WTF Texas!!!)--listed candy corn as their favorite Halloween candy.
You certainly won't find me buying any candy corn this year. BeninSC will buy cilantro and eat it off the stem before I touch a piece of candy corn.
Candy corn lovers can feel free to flame me below. Now, on to the tops...but first, a behind-the-scenes look at candy corn production...
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October 31, 2015
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