Candy corn, the polarizing treat, has Cincinnati roots. Here's its villain origin story

Haadiza Ogwude and Polly Campbell, Cincinnati Enquirer
·4 min read

Halloween time is here, and, like in previous years, our nation seems angrily divided on one important issue: candy corn.

Ohio's favorite treat is a popular topic of debate in this country. But, no matter how much some people hate it, many still eat the polarizing sweet. According to USA TODAY, an estimated 35 million pounds of candy corn are sold yearly.

But where did the country's most controversial candy come from? You can thank – or blame – Cincinnati for it.

Although George Renninger of the candy company Wunderle invented candy corn in Philadelphia, a Cincinnati company made it famous.

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The little tri-colored kernels were first commercially manufactured here over 120 years ago. And the original recipe, perfected by the Goelitz Confectionery Co., is still being made today by the same family that first brought it to the nation's attention.

Let's take a look at candy corn's villain origin story.

The Goelitz family, whose Cincinnati company popularized candy corn.
The Goelitz family, whose Cincinnati company popularized candy corn.

Candy corn started as 'chicken feed'

Goelitz Confectionery Co. was established in Belleville, Illinois, in 1869. In 1889, Adolph Goetliz moved to Cincinnati to be part of the candy supply and transportation networks. In the Queen City, he and his two brothers began manufacturing candy, including candy corn.

At the time, candy corn was called "chicken feed" or "buttercream."

It was made using: sugar, water, corn syrup, fondant (which is also water, sugar and corn syrup), marshmallow (also made of sugar and water and gelatin) and a little wax.

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It wasn't always a Halloween staple

At first, candy corn wasn't for Halloween, which wasn't widely celebrated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was actually a popular Christmas treat.

At the Goetlitz factory, candy corn was made in the summer to stock up for the big autumn candy season. It was cooked in huge cauldrons, then poured into handheld buckets that held 45 pounds.

Cincinnati food historian and blogger Dann Woellert's book "Cincinnati Candy, a Sweet History," includes a 1922 ad for Nuss' Butter Cream Corn that said, "A remarkable seller and repeater, sold in pails, boxes and in snappy, typical novelty packages for Christmas and New Year's."

The 1950s candy corn scandal

According to Pennsylvania State University, candy corn wasn’t associated with Halloween until the 1950s, when there was a dramatic spike in October advertising. At the time, it cost just 25 cents per pound.

However, the tri-colored kernels faced a scandal at the beginning of the decade that could've stunted the treat's growing popularity.

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Mashed reports that in 1950, kids all across the country suddenly fell ill after Halloween, developing significant gastrointestinal distress that caused them to break out in welts and rashes. The FDA got involved and found it was one of the candy's staple ingredients that caused the illness: orange dye no. 1.

The dye, approved in 1906, was used in the making of several foods and gave candy corn its orange stripes. But it was found to be poisonous and later outlawed. However, suspicion surrounding candy corn remains to this day.

The Jelly Belly Candy Co. takeover

Candy corn was first commercially manufactured in Cincinnati more than 120 years ago. The original recipe, perfected by Goelitz Confectionery Co., is still being made today by the same family that first brought it to the nation's attention, just now as Jelly Belly Candy Co.
Candy corn was first commercially manufactured in Cincinnati more than 120 years ago. The original recipe, perfected by Goelitz Confectionery Co., is still being made today by the same family that first brought it to the nation's attention, just now as Jelly Belly Candy Co.

Adolph's brother, Herman, had been operating a branch of the family business in Chicago, and Adolph moved operations there, merging the two branches.

In 1922, Herman took copies of the family recipes and moved to Oakland, California.

Both Goelitz companies operated separately until 2001, when they reunited as the Jelly Belly Candy Co. and got famous for making unique jellybean flavors in addition to candy corn.

In 2018, the business introduced a new package featuring the original art of a rooster and the logo that said, "something worth crowing for." The corn is a little smaller and tastes slightly different than the market leader, Brach's.

National Candy Corn Day

National Candy Corn Day is observed annually on Halloween Eve. This year, National Candy Corn Day takes place Sunday, Oct. 30.

Candy Corn is Ohio's most searched Halloween candy

According to a recent study by the oral care platform Byte, candy corn is Ohio's favorite Halloween treat this year. It also reigns supreme in Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin.

But despite these new results, many people are still not on the candy corn bandwagon. Byte reports that more than one out of three (34%) Americans hate candy corn, and a little more than one out of five (22%) love it. The other 44% are indifferent.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Did you know candy corn has Cincinnati roots? Here's its origin story