1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb here. Every Halloween in the 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: United States, bags of triangle shaped, yellow, orange, and white 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: candies fill trigger treat bags all over the country, and 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: there are many bags to fill. According to the National 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: Confectioners Association, candy companies produce nearly thirty five million pounds 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: that's almost sixteen million kilograms of candy corn every year. 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: That's about nine billion individual pieces. Candy corn is a 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: sweet replica of dried corn kernels. It's considered a mellow cream, 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: which is a type of candy made from corn syrup 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: and sugar that has a marshmallow like flavor. Although candy 12 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: corn tastes rich, it's actually fat free, but that doesn't 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: mean as a health food. It is mostly sugar. Most 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: people know the traditional candy corn with three stripes, yellow 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: at the thick end, orange in the center, and white 16 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: at the peak, but it also comes in a variety 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: of other colors and flavors depending on the holiday. Brown, 18 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 1: orange and white for Thanksgiving, green white and red reindeer 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: corn for Christmas, pink, red and white cupid corn for 20 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: Valentine's Day, and pastel colored bunny corn for Easter. The 21 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: traditional variety is most popular in the fall, especially around Halloween. 22 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: October thirty is National Candy Corn Day. However, candy corn 23 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: didn't become associated with Halloween until after World War Two, 24 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: when trigger treating became popular. Candy corn has been around 25 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: for more than a century. One George Renninger of the 26 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: Wonderly Candy Company, probably invented it in the eighteen eighties, 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: perhaps because its look was reminiscent of farm life. It 28 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: caught on with city folk nostalgic for a rural past, 29 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: and its tricolored look was revolutionary for the candy industry 30 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: at the time. The Goltz Candy Company started making candy 31 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: corn in Ndred and still makes it today under the 32 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: Jellybelly Candy Company name. The recipe for candy corn hasn't 33 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: changed that much since the late eighteen hundreds, but the 34 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: way it's made has changed quite a bit. In the 35 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: early day is workers mixed the main ingredients sugar, water 36 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: and corn syrup in large kettles. Then they added fondant, 37 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: which is a sweet, creamy icing also made from sugar, 38 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: corn syrup and water, and marshmallow for smoothness. They then 39 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: poured the mixture into kernel shaped mold in corn starch trays. 40 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: They had to do this in three passes, walking backward, 41 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: one pass for each color. Because the work was so tedious, 42 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: candy corn was only available from August to November. Today, 43 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: machines do the work and marshmallow has been replaced with 44 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: one of its key ingredients. Gelatin. Manufacturers use a corn 45 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: starch molding process to create the signature design, so it's 46 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: a molded candy. The molds are made by packing corn 47 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: starch into frames and then stamping the kernel shape into 48 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: the corn starch tip down, or a plastic mold can 49 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: be coated with a fine layer of corn starch. Either way, 50 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: pumps and jet the batter into the molds, layer by layer, 51 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: starting with the white tip, and the candies are left 52 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: to cure for a day or two. Another machine will 53 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: then shake the hardened candies out of the corn starch 54 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: molds and down through shoots. Any excess corn starts shakes 55 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: loose in a big sifter. Then the candy corn gets 56 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: a wax glaze to make it shine, and workers package 57 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,799 Speaker 1: it for shipment to stores. The whole process takes three 58 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: or four days. Today's episode was written by Stephanie Watson 59 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: and Katherine Whitburn and produced by Tyler Clay. Brain Stuff 60 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works. For 61 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: more about candy corn, check out an episode of my 62 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: other show Sabor called The Scorn of Candy Corn. It's 63 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: from November. And for more on lots of other sweet topics, 64 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com and 65 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: and for more podcast in my heart Radio, visit the 66 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 67 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.