What better way to celebrate National Candy Corn day {which is October 30, BTW!} than with your own candy corn recipe! Check out these cool facts and you’ll find the recipe at the bottom of the article!
According to Candy Corn Wonderland:
- One serving of candy corn contains only about 140 calories
- Candy corn has 3.57 calories per kernel
- More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces — enough to circle the moon nearly four times if laid end-to-end.
- Halloween accounts for 75% of the annual candy corn production
- A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.
- Candy Corn was invented by George Renninger and produced by the Wunderlee Candy Company in the 1880′s. In 1900, the Goelitz Candy Company, now Jelly BellyCandy Company, started mass producing the candy, but, due to the lack of machinery, it was only made available seasonally from March to November. Its recipe has remained unchanged.
- Candy corn isn’t just for Halloween there is also:
- Reindeer corn for Christmas (red, green, and white)
- Indian corn (it’s chocolate and vanilla flavored)
- Cupid corn for Valentine’s Day (red, pink, and white)
- Bunny corn for Easter (pastel-colored)
Still want more?
Although the recipe for candy corn hasn’t changed much since the late 1800s, the way it’s made has changed quite a bit. In the early days, workers mixed the main ingredients — sugar, water and corn syrup — in large kettles. Then they added fondant (a sweet, creamy icing made from sugar, corn syrup and water) and marshmallow for smoothness. Finally, they poured the entire mixture by hand into molds, one color at a time. Because the work was so tedious, candy corn was only available from March to November.
Today, machines do most of the work. Manufacturers use the “corn starch molding process” to create the signature design. A machine fills a tray of little kernel-shaped holes with cornstarch, which holds the candy corn in shape. Each hole fills partway with sweet white syrup colored with artificial food coloring. Next comes the orange syrup, and finally, the yellow syrup. Then the mold cools and the mixture sits for about 24 hours until it hardens. A machine empties the trays, and the kernels fall into chutes. Any excess cornstarch shakes loose in a big sifter. Then the candy corn gets a glaze to make it shine, and workers package it for shipment to stores.
Want to make your own Candy Corn?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup white corn syrup
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- several drops food coloring (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup powdered milk
