Harrison Raskin, Opinion Editor: Candy corn’s unique features make it perfect for Halloween. A seasonal candy, it draws the mind to the fall harvest and a staple crop of North American diets. The blend of tastes within its tricolour is remarkably complex, including fondant, marshmallow, honey and even corn (in syrup form). Most importantly though, candy corn is an opportunity for reflection about food in general. Simultaneously imitating and embodying the concepts of both corn and candy, this treat perfectly captures the playful, dramatic spirit of dressing up on Halloween, interrogating our relationships to ourselves and others. 9/10
Katherine Jimenez: Candy corn is the spirit of Halloween and, if you look at it a certain way, it looks like Magic Man from Adventure Time. It wears a costume and it makes you think it’s going to be amazing until you realize you’re eating candle wax. But you can’t stop chewing it because it always wins. There is no escaping the candy corn. There is no escaping it on Halloween night. You either eat it or it eats you.
Owen Silverman: Candy corn is undoubtedly a top-tier candy. However, recent news of its ingredients containing confectioners glaze, which is made from, get this, “bug secretions,” has disturbed me greatly. That being said, not many candies beat out that waxy, sweet, nostalgic experience that candy corn evokes.
Maddie Papcun, Weekly Columnist: While I would never actively seek out candy corn as a snack, I also cannot remember a year where I haven’t had a single piece of candy corn during the month of October. I just don’t have extreme feelings either way on this one. If it’s around I’ll have some, if it’s not I won’t feel like I missed out. I will argue, though, that much of the fanfare surrounding candy corn is the fact that it’s almost exclusively available during the fall. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I suppose.
Will Cronkhite, Photo: Candy corn is cosmic horror. It is a reflection of the mistakes we’ve made as a species. It should be mandatory to eat an entire bag of it a month. We deserve it. Repent, or eat candy corn for eternity.
Jacob Ningen: To counter Harrison and emulate Francois Marie Arouet, candy corn’s name is as evocative of what it is as the Holy Roman Empire was Holy Roman or an Empire. Only pumpkin Peeps and goldfish come close to the disconnect of sign and signifier.
Carson Swick, Weekly Columnist: Candy corn is strange… It strikes me more as an artistic, symbolic staple of Halloween than anything else. I usually consume two or three pieces while waiting to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, and that’s about all of that sugary mix my stomach can handle.
Anika Veeraraghav, Associate Opinion Editor: Candy corn isn’t a Halloween candy for the taste alone — it’s there for the aesthetic. There is so much Halloween merch that includes candy corn, I would say that it is one of the most iconic Halloween candies there are. That’s not to say the taste isn’t great though; it’s like eating straight sugar, which has the potential of giving a slight energy boost. Plus, there can be different flavors/variations of it too. One year, I got a bag of candy corn with chocolate covered peanuts and the combination of the two was actually pretty good. It may not be the best Halloween candy there is, but it deserves more love for sure.
Sam Zelin, Weekly Columnist: Candy corn is a light in the darkness that is the annual ableist fiasco society calls “Halloween.” Candy corn is accessible, as many other candies have a plethora of allergens on their ingredients list. Also, because candy corn is rarely sold in ways easy to carry in a trick-or-treat basket, it’s often distributed in other ways than making children walk from door to door begging for candy. In short, for all the kids who for some reason or another did not have the ability to trick-or-treat safely or easily, or for those who got sick and tired of being handed candy they couldn’t eat, candy corn allows for a way to enjoy Halloween.
Candy Corn is quite a nostalgic ‘taste of the past’, for those of us who remember buying penny candy at Woolworth’s or at their neighborhood grocery store.
Cotton Candy, like Christmas Ribbon Candy, seems to bring joy to those who were fortunate enough to have tasted it.
Even if these types of candy, like the sugary Watermelon Slices, may have been scantily consumed, the fond memories that counincide with the availability of them may have something to do with the little bit of excitement one gets when seeing or eating them, year after year.
One may not be as concerned about the high sugar content in Candy Corn as in the pleasant feeling of knowing that it is still part of their lives.
Candy Corn, Christmas Ribbon Candy and others are but nostalgic symbols of days that one holds dear to the heart.