Love it or hate it; feelings run high over candy corn

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In the pantheon of high-emotion candy, the classic shiny tricolor kernels in autumn’s white, orange and yellow are way up there. Fans and foes alike point to the same attributes: its plastic or candle-like texture (depending on whom you ask) and the megasugar hit it packs.

“I am vehemently pro candy corn. It’s sugar! What is not to love? It’s amazing. It’s like this waxy texture. You get to eat it once a year. It’s tricolor. That’s always fun,” comedian Shannon Fiedler gushed on TikTok. “Also, I know it’s disgusting. Candy corn is objectively gross, but that’s what makes it good.”

Or, as Paul Zarcone of Huntington, New York, put it: “I love candy corn even though it looks like it should taste like a candle. I also like that many people hate it. It makes me like it even more!”

Love it or loathe it, market leader Brach’s churns out roughly 30 million pounds of candy corn for the fall season each year, or enough to circle planet Earth about five times, the company says. Last year, that amounted to $75 million of $88.5 million in candy corn sales, according to the consumer research firm Circana.

When compared to top chocolate sellers and other popular confections, candy corn is niche. But few other candies have seeped into the culture quite like these pointy little sugar bombs.

While other sweets have their haters (we’re looking at you Peeps, Circus Peanuts and Brach’s Peppermint Christmas Nougats), candy corn has launched a world of memes on social media. It inspires home decor and fashion.

It has its knitters and crocheters, ombre hairdos, makeup enthusiasts and nail designs.

And it makes its way into nut bowls, trail mixes, atop cupcakes and Rice Krispie treats. Vans put out shoes emblazoned with candy corn, Nike used its color design for a pair of Dunks, and Kellogg’s borrowed the flavor profile for a version of its Corn Pops cereal.

Today, kids delight in stacking candy corn in a circle point to create corncob towers. As for nutrition, 19 candy corns amount to about 140 calories and 28 grams of sugar. Many other Halloween candy staples are in the same ballpark.

Ingredient-wise, it couldn’t be more straightforward. Candy corn is sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s glaze, salt, gelatin, honey and dyes.

“It’s not any sweeter than much other candy, and I’ve tasted every candy there is,” said Richard Hartel, who teaches candy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hartel’s students spend time in the lab making candy. The candy corn lab is among his most popular, he said, because it’s fun to make. His unscientific poll of the nine seniors who last made candy corn showed no strong feelings on eating it.

“It’s the flavor, I think, that puts some people off. It sort of tastes like butter and honey. And some people don’t like the texture, but it’s not that much different than the center of chocolate-covered buttercream,” he said.

Candy corn fans have their nibbling rituals.

Margie Sung is a purist who lives in New York. She’s been partial since childhood to the original tricolor kernels. She eats them by color, starting with the white tip and a warm cup of tea or coffee. “To this day, I swear the colors taste different,” she laughed.

Aaron Sadler, the corn. He keeps stashes at home and in a desk drawer at his office.

“My fiancée can’t stand that I like candy corn,” he said. “I buy it, and I get this look of disdain, but I don’t care. I just keep plugging on.”

Sadler has been a partaker since childhood. How does he describe the texture and flavor? “Sugary bliss.”

He’ll keep buying candy corn until mid-November. “It’s 50 percent off after Halloween. Of course, I’m going to buy it,” Sadler chuckled.

Jennifer Walker, who lives in Ontario, Canada, called candy corn “big ole lumps of dyed sugar. There’s no flavor.” Her Ontario compatriot in Sault Ste. Marie, Abby Obenchain, also isn’t a fan. She equates candy corn with childhood memories of having to visit her pediatrician, who kept a bowl on hand. “A bowl of candy corn looks to me like a bowl of old teeth, like somebody pulled a bunch of witch’s teeth out,” said Obenchain, 63.

Candy corn isn’t just a candy, said 29-yearold Savannah Woolston in Washington, D.C. “I’m a big fan of mentally getting into each season, and I feel like candy corn is in the realm of pumpkin spice lattes and fall sweaters,” she said. “And I will die on the hill that it tastes good.”

Historical Halloween Spending

By Tamesha Monk Staff Writer

A movie review: Barbie Cruel joke for trick-or-treaters or coveted seasonal delight? The great Halloween debate over candy corn is on.

As people flooded the theaters, dressed in their best pink outfits to watch the “Barbie” movie, they soon realized that there was more to this movie than meets the eye.

The Barbie franchise is known for its family-friendly playfulness and plot, but this live-action film showcased more serious issues, such as feminism, social norms, confidence, relationships and more.

Throughout the movie, Barbie is shown having mental breakdowns and physical struggles with her purpose in life. The film takes the audience on a journey of a woman living as a ‘material girl’ and transitions to what it is like living as a woman in a patriarchal society.

Though most Barbie films over the years have portrayed Barbie as an empowering figure for young girls all over the world, this movie sparked many conversations.

According to recent X (formerly known as Twitter) posts, some to the emotion of always having ‘things together’ or having a major skill in order to be successful, but the movie perfectly displayed how soft skills can make a great leader.”

The impact this film had on a large variety of people was astounding. Some women said they felt that they were represented well and in a positive light. However, other people may feel a little bit differently.

Forbes Magazine’s Erik Kain said, “For the most part, I genuinely enjoyed Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s dolls-to-life flick, but I think they didn’t quite stick the landing when it came to the overarching message, which felt both dated and at times cloying and ham-fisted.”

So, while some movie watchers were looking at the messages and themes of the movie, others were paying more attention to the acting.

Many people patiently waited for this “Barbie” movie to take to some streaming platforms, as it can be a learning experience for everyone who watches it.

Overall, moviegoers seemed to enjoy their experience and were not people felt it was not a movie for kids; others saw it as an educational film for their children.

Many women shared their thoughts about the film on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Kaise Muldrow, a student at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, shared how the movie impacted her differently. She said, “I truly enjoyed the ‘Barbie’ movie.” The movie really opened my eyes upset with the outcome of their movie experience when watching the ‘Barbie’ movie, as it got an 88 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a movie rating website, a 7.1 rating on IMDb, and a 4 out of 5 rating on Common Sense Media.

Due to the high ratings and the high impact this movie had on its audience, it is worth the time and money. If you aren’t a moviegoer, it is worth watching while it is on streaming networks.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023