Corny

I was watching an episode of Good Eats on the Food Network last night.  It was called "All Hallows Eats", and was about homemade Halloween treats--candy apples, candy corn, and popcorn balls.  Every time the show goes to a commercial they feature a fact or some trivia on the screen; that's how I learned that today (October 30th) is National Candy Corn Day.

Candy corn is one of my favorite sweets. The yellow, orange, and white kernel-shaped candies are an example of a mellow cream, a type of candy made from corn syrup and sugar that has a marshmallow-like flavor.  According to Wikipedia, George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company created the candy in the 1880s. The sweet copy of dried corn kernels was originally made by hand in a very labor-intensive procedure, and were only available on a seasonal basis.  Now everything is done by machine, and the candy is available year-round.  You can even buy it in non-traditional seasonal color combinations. (Pastel-colored Bunny Corn for Easter, anyone?)

In honor of the day, I briefly thought about making a batch of candy using Alton Brown's recipe, but decided against it; I'd probably end up eating it all myself.   The recipe yielded 60 to 80 pieces; that's a dangerous amount of candy for one person to have in the house, especially when candy corn is one of their weaknesses.  Instead, I'll go to the store and buy the smallest package of candy corn I can find.  You can't let a holiday like this pass without celebrating it in some way!