The Flavors That Make Up The Iconic Taste Of Candy Corn

Whether you love it or despise it, candy corn is an unequivocal symbol of fall. Even folks who don't eat it by the handful sometimes use the colorful, bite-sized sweets in autumn-inspired crafts or as a festive ingredient in baked goods and snack mixes. When describing the taste of candy corn, most people would agree that it is cloyingly sweet, but in regards to the actual flavor, things get murky. Whereas the candy has been described as tasting like everything from honey to frosting to wax, it actually has a very specific flavor profile.

In 2016, Thrillist reached out to Jelly Belly, which has been producing candy corn for over 100 years, inquiring about what exactly consumers were supposed to be tasting when they chomped on the sugary candy. Jelly Belly responded, saying, "Candy Corn is a wonderful blend of creamy fondant, rich marshmallow, and warm vanilla notes." Mystery solved! As to the ingredients that make up these flavors, Jelly Belly's candy corn is made with sugar, corn syrup, soy protein, artificial flavor, added colors, sorbitol, two types of edible wax, confectioner's glaze, and salt.

Not surprisingly, the flavor has nothing at all to do with corn, despite its name. Instead, candy corn is modeled to look like corn kernels and has become a practical vibe of the fall season, along with pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider flavors.

As far as holiday candy goes, candy corn goes along with Halloween similar to the way candy canes fit in with Christmas and jelly beans with Easter. But, when it was originally created by George Renninger in the 1880s of the Wunderlee Candy Company, it was intended to be a year-round candy. The decision to make the confection look like corn was due to the fact that a large percentage of Americans were involved in the farming industry, so the corn shape would have been appealing to the masses. In 1898, the Goelitz Candy Company (which eventually became the Jelly Belly Candy Company) began making its own candy corn, and it was responsible for heavily marketing and popularizing the candy.

It really wasn't until the 1950s that Halloween became equated with candy and, thus, candy corn became linked to the autumn holiday. Indeed, it was one of the most popular candies during that decade. Today, according to the National Confectioners Association, various candy-making companies produce over 35 million pounds of candy corn every year and its color scheme is no longer limited to the familiar white, orange, and yellow trio. It comes in festive colors like red and green at Christmas, pink for Valentine's Day, and pastels for Easter. The flavors of candy corn have evolved as well. Brach's newest candy corn flavors include caramel apple, kettle corn, and strawberry funnel cake. The company is also responsible for the curiously flavored kernels in its Turkey Dinner assortment, as well as a Tailgate mix which included hot dog and hamburger-flavored kernels.