Candy corn technology has come a long way since the 1800’s (when it was invented). Nobody knows for sure who developed the first candy corn prototype, but by the late 1800’s the Goelitz Candy Company was distributing these delicious little treats to Illinois farmers. Back then, candy corn was made by hand pouring sugar slurry into tiny triangular molds.
Today, though candy corn production is now completely mechanized, the ingredients are still pretty much the same. Candy corn is made with fondant, a special confectionery ingredient consisting of about 20% sugar and 80% corn syrup. Fondant is solid at room temperature but becomes a nice smooth fluid as it is heated because sugars are more soluble at higher temperatures. This liquidy syrup is deposited in molds as it was around the turn of the century, but the process is slightly more efficient.
Rather than using solid molds to shape candy corn into its distinctive form, the syrupy slurry is poured into indentations in a tray of corn starch. The machinery that carries out this process is called a mogul. Moguls are absolutely awesome. They pour the starch into the trays, create indentations of any shape you can imagine in the starch and deposit the candy corn batter at the rate of approximately 25,200 pounds per hour. Well, at least that is the speed of a normal-sized mogul. Supersized moguls, yes that is actually what they are called, can pump out nearly 40,000 pounds per hour. Each of candy corn’s three colors are deposited individually by little nozzles that pump the candy corn batter into corn-shaped indentations.
Once in their corn starch mold, the candy corn must dry for at least 24 hours and nearly 48 hours in climates as delightfully damp as D.C. Not only does the corn starch used in this process provide versatility of shape but it also helps pull out moisture from the candy corn batter, accelerating this drying stage. Once dry, the corn starch is blasted off the candy corn with an air hose and the candy corn is polished off, finished and ready to enjoy.
Editor’s note: According to the NCA candy corn page, George Renninger, an employee of the Wunderlee Candy Company, invented candy corn in the 1880s and Wunderlee became the first to produce the candy. The Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly Candy Company) started producing the confection in 1900.
8:57 am on October 21st, 2009
Since candy corn is the one candy that I can’t resist, I’m so happy to learn so much about the work behind the scenes.
So is fondant the same thing some cake makers use to decorate cakes? I always associate that with cake making somehow.
Starch molds, that is so surprising, the candy seems so smooth I assumed it was in some kind of solid mold.
So what about the flavor of the different colors in candy corn? My candy corn eating ritual is to bite off the white tip, then the yellow and finish with the bottom orange. Somehow I have always believed that the white somehow tasted different. Or are all the colors exactly the same?
Thanks for revealing all the candy secrets!
10:03 am on October 21st, 2009
[...] that Candy Scientist Laura has shared with us the secrets of candy corn, you’re probably dying to try your hand at making your own, [...]
12:20 pm on October 21st, 2009
I think the three sections of candy corn taste the same but I could be wrong. It all tastes like goodness and happiness, though – that’s for darned sure!
6:59 pm on October 21st, 2009
Ha ha, Carl. The Candy Professor – without any coaching from me – called the orange bit the bottom. So there. http://candydishblog.com/2008/10/03/halloween-preview-corn-off-the-cob/
Candy Scientist Laura tells me that while it would be possible to use different flavors for each layer of candy corn (since they are poured one at a time), generally candy corn has a consistent flavor throughout. The exception may be the newer gourmet flavors of candy corn … though we haven’t done nearly enough research to say for sure.
7:32 pm on October 31st, 2009
[...] process? Check one of these out: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/candy-corn.htm http://candydishblog.com/2009/10/20/candy-science-tuesday-candy-corn-and-starch-molding/ Apparently there is a video from The Food Network showing the candy corn production process but I [...]
7:42 pm on October 31st, 2009
[...] process? Check one of these out: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/candy-corn.htm http://candydishblog.com/2009/10/20/candy-science-tuesday-candy-corn-and-starch-molding/ Apparently there is a video from The Food Network showing the candy corn production process but I [...]
7:43 pm on October 31st, 2009
[...] process? Check one of these out: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/candy-corn.htm http://candydishblog.com/2009/10/20/candy-science-tuesday-candy-corn-and-starch-molding/ Apparently there is a video from The Food Network showing the candy corn production process but I [...]