People love candy corn. And they hate it. They love and hate candy corn so much, it ranks as one of the most controversial candies around. This hasn’t always been true although its heritage and purpose is somewhat confusing.

Candy corn was invented in the late 1800s by the Wunderle Company of Philadelphia. No one knows when the company founder, George Renninger, created the sweet, a blend of sugar, water,  corn syrup, marshmallow, and vanilla. But two things are certain – Renninger called the candy “Chicken Feed” and, when he came home from work, sometimes threw the candy to his chickens, figuring if they liked it, the name “chicken feed,” worked.

Other companies sold chicken feed – Brach’s Candy, now Ferrera, and Goelitz Confectionery Company now known as “Jelly Belly” who started making the candy in 1898. The name changed in the 1940s when the Goelitz Company sold it as “Candy Corn.” Never mind that Brach’s was already selling their “Candy Corn” in 1935, plenty of “candy corn” was already around, made at home and manufactured by the Butter-Kist company or the many stores that bought machinery to make it.

The original “Candy Corn” was actually well-marketed sugar-coated corn, much like Cracker Jacks, and other sugar-based popcorn that had been around since the late 1800s. Other iterations on the candy corn/corn candy theme included CANDY CORN TAFFY. It’s not complicated to make and was a favorite in 1910. So much a favorite that early Halloween festivities had taffy pulls as their main event.

As for the candy: that was more demanding. Early commercial candy-makers combined 45-pound batches of sugar, water, and corn syrup in large kettles, then added

fondant and marshmallows to smooth out the texture. Next, the confectionery workers poured the warm candy into buckets, then into kernel-shaped molds, walking backward, a routine they repeated three times for the white, yellow, and orange colors. 

Their efforts were not in vain – candy corn was a year-round candy that more-than-doubled as a candy-condiment/food decoration all year round. Today, of course, we consider candy corn a Halloween treat. Perhaps the time has come to embrace Candy Corn for all it is!