(Photo courtesy of: Better Homes and Gardens) “Candy corn is either loved or hated, there is no in-between.”

Morgan Mylon
Connector Staff

Candy corn is a Halloween delicacy, but only at one time of the year: Halloween. Candy corn features a triangle shape with 3 colors: yellow, orange and white. It is a staple of the Halloween-season, being featured on pillows, blankets, trinkets and plushies. The candy itself is either hated or loved by the consumer, and has been adapted into the flavors of oreo, marshmallow and m&m. On store shelves this year you can find the usual candy corn, a nerds flavor, a harvest mix and fall festival which contains interesting flavor combos such as caramel apple and strawberry. You can also find the pumpkins flavor, caramel apple and a trail mix featuring candy corn.

Candy corn’s story begins in Philadelphia at the Wunderlee Candy Company in the 1880s. Another company, the Jelly Bean Candy CO has the longest history of making candy corn, starting in the 20th century. The methods for making candy corn have changed, but it still retains its original recipe. The candy was originally made by hand using a mixture of sugar, corn syrup and water to form a slurry. Fondant was added for texture and marshmallows for the soft bite. The final mixture was poured into molds. This method has since been replaced by machinery. Candy corn became a halloween staple around the 1950s as the harvest colors helped in advertising in October.

Candy corn doesn’t deserve the hate it gets. It’s a once a year treat that only needs to be consumed once or twice during its peak period. Eating candy corn at any other time of the year isn’t the norm, but for candy corn lovers it is accepted; Candy corn haters will disagree. The reason some may hate candy corn is the flavor, some saying it’s like “butter and honey” which could be off-putting to many. Another is the texture, which is plastic or candle-like to some.

I personally fall under the candy corn lovers. I have an obsession with the little triangles when they appear on store shelves in the fall. I can devour an entire bag in only a few hours as they are easy to munch on while I’m working on homework. The flavor isn’t much to rave about, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless during the Halloween-season. Candy corn is a sweet reminder about the simpler times when I’d be sitting around trading candy with my brother and splitting the candy corn so it would be even between us, or trading candy at school the next day and bragging about our Halloween scores. Or when the channel NOGGIN played a song about a moose not liking candy corn. Candy corn is much more than a simple triangle made of sugar; it is a nostalgic treat to help get me through the semester. The opinions of candy corn haters are respected, as I understand their reasons for not enjoying the treat. Sometimes I feel the same way; but, under most circumstances, I find the faux corn to be very enjoyable with friends.