Candy Corn: The Sweet Story

oberdorf_candycornAs Halloween arrives, we can’t ignore the iconic yellow, orange and white treat that finds its way into our mouths this time of year. We all know it – the familiar (yet sometimes confusing) flavor of candy corn. What you may not know: the creation of these holiday sweets trace back more than a century ago.

George Renninger, a candy maker at the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia, invented the candy in the early 1880s. At the turn of the 20th century, the candy was produced by the Goelitz Confectionery Company, today known as Jelly Belly Candy Co. The company still has the longest history of producing candy corn. In fact, to honor of the company’s candy corn history, Jelly Belly produced a corn-flavored jelly bean.

To this day, candy corn production still uses the original recipe, though the method has been altered over the years. The candy is a mixture of sugar, fondant, corn syrup, vanilla flavor and marshmallow crème.

A depression is partially filled with each colored mellocreme in this order: white, orange and yellow. As the mixture cools, the three colors of mellocreme adhere together. Once the cooling process is complete, the tri-colored sweets are removed from the tray and polished with an edible wax and glaze to become the shiny Halloween treats we know and love.

Photo by Victoria Oberdorf

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