Halloween candy is something that most people look forward to collecting on October 31st every year. Kids like visiting the houses that deal out fullsized candy bars, and parents enjoy invoking the “Parent Tax” for bringing that much candy into the house at one time. While people have their absolute favorites, like Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, the truth is most people are happy with whatever candy they get. There are a handful of candies, though, that cause division amongst the masses: Circus Peanuts, Necco Wafers, Wax Cola Bottles, and (worst of all) Candy Corn.
Candy corn was invented in the late 1800s by a man named George Renninger. The first version of this candy was made by hand. A mixture of sugar, corn syrup, carnauba wax, and water was cooked into a slurry and then poured into tri-layered molds. Today, candy companies use corn starch molding, and a machine does the three-striped pour, and the candy is popped out of the molds after it hardens.
Candy corn was first produced by Wunderle Candy Company in 1888 and called “Chicken Feed” because corn was usually used as an animal feed before 1920. Once the 1920s came around, the transition to “candy corn” began with the Goelitz Confectionery Company - known today as Jelly Belly. With packaging that featured a rooster and a motto of, “King of the Candy Corn Fields,” candy corn became one of America’s most popular penny candies, available all year round. It was cheap to produce and cheap to buy, so it seemed like a win-win for everyone.
