Day 22: Candy Corn Tribute

Well folks, there are only 9 days left till Halloween and 10 till my perfect month ends. Everyone talks about how time is moving slowly with Covid, but I feel like October is positively flying by, like a witch on a turbo charged broom. I keep expecting to wake up and find that it is already Thanksgiving. I’m glad it’s not, but it seems other people are anxious for it to be December already. The personalities on the radio have already started talking about Christmas shopping, Hallmark started advertising their Christmas bonanza in August and I found a radio station that has started playing Christmas music. Good grief, plus now there is talk of snow. At least let me have fall for 10 more days.

But enough about Christmas and snow, today’s Thought is in tribute to my mom (I started writing this before her hospital shenanigans). She is my original October Thought fan, and  is the one who encouraged me and offered suggestions or pointers when I first started writing. One Thought that she always asked for was about candy corn, she loves the stuff. Well, she really likes the fondant pumpkins and spice drops, but candy corn is right up there. She would get very upset if I forgot to give the humble corn its due.

The little tri color triangular treats came into being sometime in the 1880’s, except they weren’t called candy corn. They were known as “Chicken Feed” and their invention was credited to a George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company. The original recipe was sugar syrup, fondant and marshmallows.  Now candy corn is made up of sugar, fondant, corn syrup, vanilla flavor, and marshmallow crème along with corn starch. Maybe messing with the recipe jus ta bit is why not many people like it anymore?

Wunderle is no longer in business and so the second longest producer of the tri colored triangles goes to the Goelitz Confectionary Company of Cincinnati which you know as the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Jelly Belly to me makes the best candy corn, plus, they sell it in little fun sized snacking bags so you don’t get pounds and pounds of the stuff and you never get any that are stale.

Every year candy corn makes the top 10 list of candy that people hate, last year it was voted the MOST hated Halloween candy in America, yet that doesn’t seem to stop the sales of it. Last year 9 billion pieces of candy corn were sold. Personally I think most people craft with them rather than eat them, but who cares? You can do all sorts of things with candy corn if you are creative. My favorite thing is to make fangs out of them and then eat them.

In case you were wondering, the other hated candies were circus peanuts, those mysterious orange and black wrapped confections known as peanut butter kisses and wax soda bottles, along with licorice, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties and Good & Plenty. I agree with the hatred of the first 3, but come on with the last 4. I used to have to beg my parents to give up the Tootsie Rolls. What is wrong with the youth of America today? More for me I guess.

Candy corn eventually branched out into holiday corn and for a brief moment even capitalized on the pumpkin spice craze. Now there is candy corn for just about every holiday, there is  Indian Corn  or Harvest Corn for Thanksgiving, Reindeer Corn for Christmas , Cupid Corn for Valentine’s Day,  Bunny Corn for Easter and 4^th of July Corn for, well, you get it. I’m kinda miffed that there is not Guinness flavored corn for St. Patrick’s Day or Champagne Corn for New Years. I think they are missing a market opportunity there.

This year’s seasonal “treat” is Haunted Tropics Candy Corn which boasts the sour flavors of, Watermelon, Pineapple, Banana, Kiwi, Mango and Tropical Punch. Cuz nothing says Halloween like bananas or the tropics? And what exactly does a sour banana taste like? Just cuz you slap a skull on something doesn’t make it fit for October. I can’t believe I just said that.

In addition to the holiday corns are other seasonal favorites like Pumpkin and Apple pie flavors along with caramel apple, sour corns from the Trolli brand, giant candy corns, cinnamon, blackberry cobbler, grape soda, caramel, Donut Shoppe, mermaid , and unicorn horns just to name a few. There is even a turkey dinner candy corn that even I am not brave enough to try. It says it is a limited edition but I don’t think it is limited enough. The description reads “flavors include roasted turkey, green beans, ginger-glazed carrots, sweet potato pie and cranberry sauce.” Nope. Nope. Nope.

National Candy Corn Day is the 30 of October, but I wasn’t going to wait till then. So, what’s your favorite flavor of candy corn? And would you be brave enough to try Turkey Dinner Corn?