Love it or hate it, it’s candy corn season
The Springhouse offers a variety of sweet fall treats, including candy corn and pumpkins and its best-selling autumn mix. (Photo by Katherine Mansfield)
Candy corn is the third best-selling Halloween candy, according to the National Confectioners Association. At The Springhouse, autumn mix 鈥� which includes traditional candy corn, candy pumpkins and harvest corn 鈥� is fall鈥檚 best-selling sweet. (Photo by Katherine Mansfield)
The Jack-O鈥�-Lantern Smiley cookie, featuring three kernels of candy corn, debuted in 1986, the same year Eat鈥檔 Park introduced the traditional Smiley. Here, Jack-O鈥�-Lantern is pictured with Eat鈥檔 Park鈥檚 other ghoulish sweet treats, the Mummy and Monster Smiley cookies. (Photo courtesy of Courtney Caprara)
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Since the start of fall, a meme bearing the words, 鈥淚t鈥檚 candy corn season for all u crayon eating psychopaths鈥� has been making the rounds on social media.
In case you hadn鈥檛 heard, the yellow, white and orange sweet sold once a year is quite the polarizing treat.
鈥淧eople, either they鈥檙e candy corn lovers or they鈥檙e candy corn haters. It鈥檚 a huge debate,鈥� laughed Kristy Vliet, owner of 5 Kidz Candy in Waynesburg. 鈥淚 am anti-candy corn.鈥�
Which means you won鈥檛 find bags of the sugary-sweet confection on 5 Kidz鈥檚 shelves. But a piece of the fake corn does appear as an accent on the shop鈥檚 cupcakes and other fall desserts. Even then, the candy sometimes raises eyebrows.
Last year, a piece of candy corn that appeared on a spooky season cupcake artfully decorated in chocolate icing and a gravestone generated debate between a couple who popped into 5 Kidz for something sweet.
鈥淲e have a husband and wife, the guy was like, 鈥榃hy would you ruin perfectly good chocolate icing by putting candy corn on it?'鈥� Vliet laughed, adding the wife said it was the icing that ruined the candy corn.
Candy corn has been dividing sweets lovers for more than a century.
In the 1880s, candy companies went through a phase, during which they molded mellowcreme concoctions into all sorts of agricultural shapes, including chestnuts and pumpkins, marketed to country kids, since about half of working Americans were farmers.
According to the National Confectioners Association, around that time George Renninger, an employee at Philadelphia鈥檚 Wunderle Candy Co., invented a colorful piece of corn made from sugar and corn syrup.
The tri-colored candy was cheap to make and, in 1898, the Goelitz Candy Co., now Jelly Belly, crafted its own version of Renninger鈥檚 sweet. Goelitz called it Chicken Feed, since corn didn鈥檛 often grace American dinner tables, and quickly other candy companies started selling their own version of Chicken Feed as penny candy year-round.
When Halloween became a commercial holiday in the 1950s, candy corn got a makeover, becoming a delicacy associated with and sold around Oct. 31.
In fact, according to the NCA, candy corn is the third most-popular Halloween treat for the 2023 season, trailing chocolate and gummy candies.
The Springhouse Country Market and Restaurant in Washington is ready for those stocking up for Halloween or simply craving something sweet. Last week, the family-owned farm and storefront put out its candy corn stash.
鈥淚t鈥檒l probably be gone before the end of the month,鈥� said Marcia Minor Opp, owner-manager.
The Springhouse orders candy corn six months before the sweet hits the sales floor, Opp said, so each year it鈥檚 a guessing game of how much will sell.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping we guessed big enough this year,鈥� Opp laughed. 鈥淭he harvest mix is a big seller. That is probably the biggest seller of all the candy for the fall.鈥�
Also popular are the Springhouse鈥檚 three other flavors: caramel apple, s鈥檓ores and blackberry cobbler (popularized in Eastern Canada) candy corn.
鈥淭he blackberry cobbler鈥檚 really good,鈥� Opp said. 鈥淭he first year we got it we thought, oh my gosh, this is so fun. We must get more next year.鈥�
It鈥檚 been a staple ever since.
Candy corn is a staple at Gene & Boots in Fayette County, too, where it arrives on shelves just in time for Halloween season.
But 鈥渋t鈥檚 not as popular as it used to be,鈥� said Eric Ferguson, third-generation owner.
鈥淲e鈥檝e noticed a lot of different things change over the years,鈥� Ferguson said, noting some sweets that used to fly off shelves are no longer top-sellers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the way times change.鈥�
People gravitate toward Gene & Boots鈥� chocolates 鈥� chocolate pumpkin plaques and jack-o鈥�-lantern pops are made in-house 鈥� and candy apples.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 selling right now is the caramel apples. We do our own caramel apples and candy apples. There鈥檚 all kinds of different varieties 鈥� 鈥�15, to be exact,鈥� and 鈥渢hat鈥檚 definitely more important than candy corn for Halloween, for us,鈥� Ferguson said.
He doesn鈥檛 personally enjoy candy corn, Ferguson laughed, but 鈥渟ome people want it, so we carry it.鈥�
What makes candy corn at once so delightful and disgusting, depending on one鈥檚 tastebuds, is the flavor, which is hard to put into words.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an odd taste, but it鈥檚 a good taste. It鈥檚 sweet. I don鈥檛 know how to explain it. I wish I could. I can鈥檛,鈥� said Carla Phillips, of Washington, who loves candy corn.
Saundra Mader tried comparing the Halloween candy to a sweets experience most can relate to.
鈥淚t kind of reminds me of those circus peanuts that melt in your mouth,鈥� she said, noting she only eats candy corn if it鈥檚 Brach鈥檚, which happens to be the most popular brand in the U.S.
While Phillips and Mader are OK with candy corn, Joyce Novak, of Richeyville, is not.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gross,鈥� she said emphatically. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just like eating sugar. It doesn鈥檛 have any flavor.鈥�
Those who don鈥檛 mind the straight-sugar sweet are particular about how they consume candy corn.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a big debate each Halloween about the 鈥榬ight鈥� way to eat candy corn,鈥� said Carly Schildhaus, NCA鈥檚 director of public affairs and communications. 鈥淔ifty-one percent of people eat the whole piece at once, while 31% of Americans start with the narrow white end and just 18% say they start with the wider yellow end.鈥�
Though the flavor elicits strong disapproval from some, it鈥檚 hard to deny candy corn鈥檚 cuteness. A quick Instagram search for 鈥渃andy corn鈥� yields a variety of candy corn plushies and crochet patterns, and candy corn-inspired desserts (including chocolate-dipped strawberries dressed in yellow, orange and white).
鈥淚t looks cute but it tastes gross,鈥� Vliet laughed. 鈥淲e do custom cookies, and we do a candy corn one. It looks like candy corn, and it鈥檚 a sugar cookie. We sell a lot of those. People gravitate toward it because it is really cute looking, but we don鈥檛 make it taste like candy corn.鈥�
Since 1986, Eat鈥檔 Park has offered a cute twist on traditional candy corn. From about Labor Day through Halloween, the jack-o鈥�-lantern Smiley cookies, featuring candy corn kernels as eyes and noses, delight cookie lovers.
鈥淲e know some people are bigger fans of candy corn than others, but it really helps our Jack-O鈥�-Lantern Smileys get into the spirit of spooky season and brings a smile to our guests,鈥� said Courtney Caprara, spokesperson, Eat鈥檔 Park Restaurants. 鈥淲e鈥檝e heard from many guests that the only time they are willing to eat candy corn is when it鈥檚 on our Jack-O鈥�-Lantern Smiley cookies.鈥�
Love it or hate it, it鈥檚 candy corn season, and whether you鈥檙e binge-eating a bag or avoiding it altogether, the colorful piece of candy is available for enjoyment or disdain through the end of spooky season.