Maybe you’ve heard the urban legend that all the candy corn in the world was made in one single year. It was so bad that it was just thrown in the trash, and then some sort of candy agency would gather it all back up again after Halloween and re-distribute it the next year, only for the cycle to repeat itself once more.
My brother was the first person who told me this story, and it seemed plausible. It made sense to me. Candy corn is bad. Is there even anyone out there who actually eats it? I’d never once seen someone choose candy corn over literally any other type of candy available. But it turns out that Brach’s, the candy company that corners the candy corn market, sold $75 million of the candy last year—that’s 30 million pounds of the stuff. So I doubt all of it’s going in the trash.
But where did this ubiquitous treat come from, and how has it shaped Halloween culture since? This is a brief history of Halloween’s most iconic treat: candy corn.
Candy Corn’s Uncertain Origins
We don’t actually know when candy corn was invented, but food historians estimate that it came onto the scene in the 1880s, according to History. Its invention is largely attributed to a man named George Renninger, who worked at the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until the following decade that the Goelitz Candy Company (which has since changed its name to The Jelly Belly Company) began making the candy, popularizing it into the treat we know today.
Back then, though, it wasn’t necessarily associated with Halloween—instead, the candy was made to look like chicken feed made from corn. At a time when a significant portion of the United States’ population was farmers (or at least associated with farmers on the regular), the shape would’ve been quite recognizable. For decades, candy eaters enjoyed candy corn year round—it wasn’t particularly associated with Halloween, largely because candy was not yet such an important part of the holiday. When “penny candy,” small amounts of candy that would be sold for, yes, a penny, gained prominence, candy corn was heavily featured in shops peddling the sweet stuff.
Candy Corn Becomes the Halloween Staple We Know Today
By the 1950s, candy in general started to be associated more with Halloween, and candy corn took center stage. It was at this time that the candy began to become the holiday symbol we know it as today. Sure, you may still have a bowl of candy corn out at Thanksgiving, but keep eating it much past early December, and you’re likely to get some strange looks.
According to Farmer’s Almanac, part of the reason why this candy began to be associated with Halloween was the fact that sugary treats like candy corn weren’t made year round; rather, they’d only be produced from the late spring to fall due to how labor-intensive the production process was. Just when production was wrapping up, Halloween came around, making it the perfect time to distribute the candy.
If you celebrate Halloween, it’s almost inevitable that, at some point, some candy corn will cross your path. Perhaps you’ve been like me in the past, turning up your nose at the flavorless candy, under the impression that eating a plain sugar cube would probably be more pleasant than popping a chicken feed-shaped sugar bomb. But maybe, just maybe, knowing more about where this candy came from will convince you to give it another try, this time with fresh eyes.
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.