Candy corn has received a lot of hatred over the past decade. Many keyboard warriors have taken to facebook and Reddit to unleash their rage against the beloved Halloween candy that has stood the test of time.
They claim that they hate candy corn because it's too rich and too sweet, but also conversely has no flavor. They lambast the candy as something that should never be handed out on Halloween, as it is even too disgusting for children who tend to love sweets.
Even the people closest to me say that they hate the colorful Halloween treat and mock me for loving it so much. My family constantly berates me for being "one of them" who actually like candy corn.
They say it tastes like high fructose corn syrup and sadness, and that I should get electroshock therapy for enjoying candy corn, because something is clearly wrong with me.
My own wife said I should go "straight to jail" for being pro-candy corn.
Once I had given my sister-in-law a bag of candy corn as a joke gift and she looked at me like she was going to throw it at me. Needless to say, she didn't appreciate the joke.
The hatred of candy corn is quite real.
Many sources have published their top 10 Worst Halloween Candies, and year after year, candy corn is condemned to the list.
The masses have voted and the results are in: candy corn sucks.
Well, despite the raw and sometimes aggressive hatred of candy corn, there are a unique few who still love it.
I am unashamedly one of those people.
Why do some people love candy corn so much while so many cannot stand it?
Let's start this tasty fact-finding journey with an overview of what candy corn is.
What is Candy Corn?
Many people ask, what is candy corn made of? You don't need to know what the ingredients are to love candy corn (or supposedly hate it in most cases), but many trick-or-treaters of the old days are curious as to what is in it.
Candy corn is made of mostly of corn syrup, sugar, and confectioner's glaze. It also contains gelatin, honey, food dyes, and artificial flavors.
There is one ingredient that makes candy corn particularly choice for Halloween. That ingredient is shellac, which is a waxy like material made from lac insects to protect itself from the external world.
So yes, candy corn does contain bugs.
The flavors are said to be creamy fondant, rich marshmallow, and warm vanilla notes. When all combined, it creates the distinctive flavor of candy corn that we all know and love or hate.
Candy corn was invented in 1888 by a candy factory employee. 10 years later it was manufactured by the Jelly Belly company.
It wasn't originally associated with Halloween, but rather farming and the harvest.
In the 1950's, as trick-or-treating became increasingly popular in American suburbs, candy corn began to rise to fame.
The brightly colored orange, yellow and white candy would be, from that point on, forever part of the fall and Halloween season.
Why Do People Love Candy Corn?
While I can't speak for everyone on team candy corn, I imagine that we share some similarities.
Interestingly enough, despite the fact that candy corn makes so many Worst Halloween Candy lists, it also simultaneously cracks the top 10 for the best Halloween Candy too!
We are a divided nation, indeed. Some are vehemently pro-candy corn, while some are even more anti-candy corn.
The middle ground is a narrow and slippery morass that few can keep their balance on when candy corn is brought up in polite conversation. Disrespecting candy corn can be fighting words. It can tear families apart.
Enough about the naysayers, let's explore some of the reasons people have for enjoying this century-old candy!
Candy Corn Nostalgia
One of the biggest reasons people claim to love candy corn isn't even about the taste. They love Halloween, and thus they love the candy most associated with trick-or-treating.
The sight and smell of the candy alone triggers halcyon memories of youth in the fall. As the leaves change colors and the autumn winds chill, we are pleased to welcome the Halloween season. A carefree time when dressing up as a monster to get as much candy as possible was the only thing that mattered.
Aging millennials and the rare xennials arguably had one of the best Halloween experiences, as they were young enough to go trick-or-treating without the impending doom of cellphones that could track your every move and a public who went overboard with safety hysteria.
Yet, they still grew up with all of the modern conveniences that the older generations lacked.
As an Xennial, I can assure you that nostalgia plays a huge role in why I love candy corn.
When I was in Salem, MA to see The Hocus Pocus House in 2019, we also stopped at the Halloween Museum. I saw the McDonald's trick-or-treat boo buckets that we got there as kids and I was blown away. It hit me right in the childhood.
And when I was a kid trick-or-treating, my favorite thing to get was candy corn.
I would search through all of my Halloween candy and pick out all of the candy corn packages and add extra security behind them so nobody else could take it.
Candy corn triggers that sweet nostalgia of youth.
Halloween Decorum
I always wondered how people could hate candy corn so much yet see so much of it being sold everywhere.
If people hate it so much, why are they making it and selling it?
Perhaps people just like its association with Halloween so they use it as part of their decorations.
Some people will fill up a vase of candy corn and use it as a centerpiece. Some will put them onto their light fixtures and chandeliers, while others glue them to indoor wreaths and napkin holders.
There are many creative ways to use the actual candy as decorum, and of course, there are endless art projects and designs that are made to look like the nostalgic candy.
But let's face reality, people also like to eat candy corn.
Candy Corn Tastes Good
We love Halloween, so every year we throw a party where we drink pumpkin beer and eat way too much horror themed and pumpkin spiced foods.
One year I sat a giant plastic spider full of candy corn out on the table solely to be used as decoration. I didn't expect anyone to go for it.
By the end of the night, there was only a tiny bit of candy corn left. Out of the 20 people that were there, they managed to devour most of it.
For hating candy corn so much, it sure did get destroyed.
Perhaps it was the pumpkin beer that made them release their inhibitions and regrettably consume copious amounts of candy, but deep down, even when sober, they know they want to eat it.
Why? Because it tastes good.
Some people even say that each color has a unique flavor. And because it is associated with Halloween, they even do fun things like turn the candy corn upside-down and pretend they're Dracula fangs before chewing them up and swallowing with glee.
In Conclusion
It's okay to love candy corn. You don't have to be too cool for it. You don't have to aggressively pretend like you don't like it just because everyone else is saying they despise it.
Since when were the masses ever right, ya know?
Be yourself and dig into that sweet nostalgic candy and don't let the judgement of others spoil your delight. In fact, to me it makes the candy taste better knowing everybody is frontin' on it.
Now if you really do not like it, that's okay too. You're wrong, but that's okay. We still want you to have a Happy Halloween!
If you're in the Halloween spirit now, check out these hilarious Halloween Jokes!
