WEBVTT - What Exactly Is Candy Corn?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel Bomb here. Every Halloween in the

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<v Speaker 1>United States, bags of triangle shaped, yellow, orange, and white

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<v Speaker 1>candies fill trigger treat bags all over the country, and

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<v Speaker 1>there are many bags to fill. According to the National

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<v Speaker 1>Confectioners Association, candy companies produce nearly thirty five million pounds

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<v Speaker 1>that's almost sixteen million kilograms of candy corn every year.

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<v Speaker 1>That's about nine billion individual pieces. Candy corn is a

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<v Speaker 1>sweet replica of dried corn kernels. It's considered a mellow cream,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a type of candy made from corn syrup

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<v Speaker 1>and sugar that has a marshmallow like flavor. Although candy

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<v Speaker 1>corn tastes rich, it's actually fat free, but that doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>mean as a health food. It is mostly sugar. Most

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<v Speaker 1>people know the traditional candy corn with three stripes, yellow

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<v Speaker 1>at the thick end, orange in the center, and white

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<v Speaker 1>at the peak, but it also comes in a variety

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<v Speaker 1>of other colors and flavors depending on the holiday. Brown,

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<v Speaker 1>orange and white for Thanksgiving, green white and red reindeer

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<v Speaker 1>corn for Christmas, pink, red and white cupid corn for

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<v Speaker 1>Valentine's Day, and pastel colored bunny corn for Easter. The

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<v Speaker 1>traditional variety is most popular in the fall, especially around Halloween.

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<v Speaker 1>October thirty is National Candy Corn Day. However, candy corn

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<v Speaker 1>didn't become associated with Halloween until after World War Two,

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<v Speaker 1>when trigger treating became popular. Candy corn has been around

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<v Speaker 1>for more than a century. One George Renninger of the

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<v Speaker 1>Wonderly Candy Company, probably invented it in the eighteen eighties,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps because its look was reminiscent of farm life. It

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<v Speaker 1>caught on with city folk nostalgic for a rural past,

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<v Speaker 1>and its tricolored look was revolutionary for the candy industry

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<v Speaker 1>at the time. The Goltz Candy Company started making candy

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<v Speaker 1>corn in Ndred and still makes it today under the

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<v Speaker 1>Jellybelly Candy Company name. The recipe for candy corn hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>changed that much since the late eighteen hundreds, but the

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<v Speaker 1>way it's made has changed quite a bit. In the

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<v Speaker 1>early day is workers mixed the main ingredients sugar, water

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<v Speaker 1>and corn syrup in large kettles. Then they added fondant,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a sweet, creamy icing also made from sugar,

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<v Speaker 1>corn syrup and water, and marshmallow for smoothness. They then

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<v Speaker 1>poured the mixture into kernel shaped mold in corn starch trays.

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<v Speaker 1>They had to do this in three passes, walking backward,

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<v Speaker 1>one pass for each color. Because the work was so tedious,

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<v Speaker 1>candy corn was only available from August to November. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>machines do the work and marshmallow has been replaced with

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<v Speaker 1>one of its key ingredients. Gelatin. Manufacturers use a corn

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<v Speaker 1>starch molding process to create the signature design, so it's

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<v Speaker 1>a molded candy. The molds are made by packing corn

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<v Speaker 1>starch into frames and then stamping the kernel shape into

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<v Speaker 1>the corn starch tip down, or a plastic mold can

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<v Speaker 1>be coated with a fine layer of corn starch. Either way,

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<v Speaker 1>pumps and jet the batter into the molds, layer by layer,

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<v Speaker 1>starting with the white tip, and the candies are left

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<v Speaker 1>to cure for a day or two. Another machine will

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<v Speaker 1>then shake the hardened candies out of the corn starch

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<v Speaker 1>molds and down through shoots. Any excess corn starts shakes

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<v Speaker 1>loose in a big sifter. Then the candy corn gets

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<v Speaker 1>a wax glaze to make it shine, and workers package

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<v Speaker 1>it for shipment to stores. The whole process takes three

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<v Speaker 1>or four days. Today's episode was written by Stephanie Watson

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<v Speaker 1>and Katherine Whitburn and produced by Tyler Clay. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works. For

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<v Speaker 1>more about candy corn, check out an episode of my

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<v Speaker 1>other show Sabor called The Scorn of Candy Corn. It's

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<v Speaker 1>from November. And for more on lots of other sweet topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com and

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<v Speaker 1>and for more podcast in my heart Radio, visit the

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.