BY EMERSON LAYNE

Candy corn has been a dividing force for candy enjoyers. Dozens of polls by news channels, polls sites, and others show that roughly 50% of people enjoy candy corn while the other half dislike it. Many heated online debates and discussions have been done with no real conclusion on the matter. So, is candy corn delicious and people who dislike it are just hateful, or are candy corn enjoyers just delusional and never tried “real candy”? Well, it’s important to look at the history of candy corn. 

Candy corn wasn’t even called candy corn when it was invented, nor was it originally created for Halloween. Candy corn was called “chicken feed”, and was made by Wunderle Candy Co. of Philadelphia, now known as Jelly Belly Candy Co. Candy corn was targeted at rural and agricultural families during the 1880’s, hence the name of chicken feed. The recipe of the candy, being mainly sugar, gelatin, and marshmallow creme, with honey on occasion depending on the brand. Candy corn is then covered in an edible wax, which comes from a bug excretion, to lengthen the shelf life. Year round, it comes in a variety of flavors and colors. During Thanksgiving, candy corn will come out with brown colors and chocolate flavors, during Valentine’s Day, it would be pink, red, and white, then during Christmas, it would be red, green, and white. Candy corn was popular enough for other brands like Oh Nuts!, Zachary, Brach’s, and Gold Emblem to make their own candy corn, with slightly different recipes. 

So what’s the importance of all this? Well, the importance is that candy corn has been around for a long time and has been popular enough for other companies to join in on the market. Millions of pounds of candy corn is made each year, due to high demand from consumers and stores.That brings up the other question, is candy corn actually good? 

According to candy corn enjoyers, they like the slight chewiness and how sweet it is. Candy corn enjoyers also like the festive flavors that come out year round, making it a medium of food rather than a one trick pony.  They also enjoy the simplicity of candy corn, being mainly sugar rather than other candies that have varieties of flavors in a pack, like Sour Patch Kids, Warheads, Lollipops, Haribo Gold Bears, Airheads, etc. 

On the side of the candy corn adversary, they believe it’s too sweet. The gummy and waxy texture of candy corn is what makes their adversaries hate it. The waxy coating on the outside that is known to come from a bug excretion, is what makes adversaries shy away even more from candy corn due to the stigma of eating bugs or bug products. Candy corn adversaries also dislike the simplicity of candy corn, believing there are better candies out there that are more edible, one of the popular recommended replacements being Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a major popular candy. 

While it’s interesting to know the opinions on a divisive candy that has actually caused serious discussion, it’s important to respect others opinions on a literal piece of candy. Not everyone is going to agree or enjoy the same topic, that’s a fact of life, but it’s greatly crucial to respect a differing opinion. At the end of the day, candy corn is just candy, you don’t have to eat or buy it if you don’t want it. For candy corn enjoyers, it’ll just be more for them.