Candy corn gets a bad rap, and we’ll be honest, it seems like people fall into two camps—they either love it, or they hate it. But despite its potentially bad reputation, candy corn still manages to top lists as the best-selling Halloween candy each October. While you’ve likely been noshing on this super-sweet, tri-colored treat since childhood, we bet there’s a lot you didn’t know about it.
It’s been around a long time.
There’s more than one company turning out candy corn each October, but Jelly Belly is the longest-running candy corn producer still in service today. Previously dubbed Goelitz Confectionery Company, the company has been making candy corn since 1898. Brach’s, however, is the biggest seller of the product today.
You can enjoy it all year.
Not only does candy corn last quite a while—it’s good for nine months packaged and up to six months opened—there are variations of the dessert for other major holidays including reindeer corn at Christmas, cupid corn for V-day, Indian corn for Thanksgiving, and bunny corn for Easter, each one with its own colorful presentation. Back in the day, candy corn wasn’t even associated with Halloween—it was considered a summer snacker.
Dentists hate it.
Pediatric dentists aren’t big proponents of candy at all but candy corn is especially problematic. Made up almost entirely of sugar, it’s certainly not good for your teeth. Add in that candy corn is chewy and sticks to teeth, and you can see why it’s a nightmare for oral health.
It’s nicknamed ‘chicken feed’
Or at least it used to be. People have long associated corn with chickens, so the nickname chicken feed stuck for a while and influenced early marketing. Now, it mostly just has a reputation associated with Halloween.
It’s basically sugar
Candy corn is made by combining sugar, fondant, corn syrup, vanilla flavoring, and marshmallow crème then melting it to liquid form before each color is injected into a mold to give it its signature design. While the candy is fat-free, a standard serving contains 140 calories and 28g of sugar, or about 7.5 calories per kernel.
Mark your calendars.
Candy corn is so popular it was gifted its own holiday, suitably on October 30. It’s a good excuse to dive into the Halloween candy a day early. But let’s be honest, if you’re a fan of this stuff, you’re eating it all October long.