Where do you stand on candy corn?

Vote in our poll below before you continue reading.

Beyond your effort to guess how many the jar in your school lobby holds in hopes of selecting a prize that might distract you for the rest of the day, or at least until it gets confiscated at lunch, candy corn is actually a snack some people … enjoy.

How might you describe the taste of candy corn, if asked?

A Yahoo piece in 2020 quoted a Jelly Belly spokesperson, who said candy corn should taste like a creamy and buttery blend of marshmallow and vanilla, more specifically “a wonderful blend of creamy fondant, rich marshmallow and warm vanilla notes.” Does that capture candy corn for you? For those who love it, are you closing your eyes to absorb the warm vanilla notes as you wonder “Does the white tip convey the vanilla notes the strongest, and the yellow the drips of honey? Or am I eating the orange part now?”

Does candy corn really have a flavor? Oreo once made a special candy corn-flavored creme cookie, thankfully a limited edition. But the sight and thought of the seasonal treat symbolizes more than just a handful of sugar for many. Candy corn is Halloween. It signifies spooky season as much as the changing leaves or the pumpkins on people’s porches.

For others, well, it doesn’t carry as much of an autumnal meaning.

When you got sick to your stomach or had a sore throat, did your parents ever tell you the chewable tablet they wanted you to take basically tasted like candy, and then after hours of negotiation when you finally caved, it felt like you’d bitten into soggy chalk? That’s the candy corn experience for some of us.

So who really likes to eat candy corn? From candyusa.com in 2020, “data from the National Confectioners Association reveals that Gen X is the most likely to enjoy eating candy corn, with 58% reporting that they enjoy the iconic Halloween treat.” The report said Boomers trail shortly behind with 56% enjoying candy corn, according to the survey which was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of NCA. Candy corn is slightly less popular with younger generations, however, as less than half of millennials and Gen Z report enjoying the triangle-shaped treat.”

As polarizing as candy corn appears to be, some of us are totally indifferent. We ignore it altogether or focus on other, better candy that will anger our dentists. But apparently, a candy corn debate rages on. For the most part, you either love it or hated. The mere thought of it delights or disgusts you. Is candy corn the scariest of all the monsters that haunt your dreams this Halloween, or does it ward off evil spirits with those warm vanilla notes?

Make your voice known in the poll above.