WASHINGTON — In more flavors than ever, candy corn is abundant on store shelves in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
Oct. 30 is National Candy Corn Day, and Food.com says Americans buy nearly 20 million pounds of it each year. Whether you can’t get enough or can’t stand it, there are probably some things you didn’t know about the tri-colored confection.
Five candy corn facts:
- It’s more than 100 years old: The Goelitz Candy Co., which is now the Jelly Belly Candy Co., started making candy corn in 1900, according to the National Confectioners Association. Originally, it was cooked in large kettles before being poured into trays to give the candy corn its signature kernel shape.
- It used to go by a different name: When the Goeltz Candy Co. began making the candy corn, it was called “Chicken Feed,” according to Better Homes and Gardens. The candy was sold in boxes with a rooster logo and a tag line stating it was “Something worth crowing for.”
- There’s a “right” way to eat it: To be fair, there is no wrong way to eat candy corn. But according to a National Confectioner’s Association survey, the majority of people eat the whole thing at once. About 43 percent of candy corn-eaters start at the narrow white end, while just 10 percent prefer to go for the widest part.
- You don’t have to wait for Halloween: Craving candy corn in the middle of winter? You don’t have to wait for Halloween to come around to munch on the mellow cr
