The Ghost of Halloween Candy Past: A short and sweet history of your candy bag

Ever wonder where your candy came from? You can stop wondering now, because we have the answers.

Candy Corn:

Candy corn was originally created by George Renninger at what would become the Jelly Belly Company. It was called Chicken Feed at first as corn at that time wasn’t very sweet or tasty, and was a food source for the poor. Candy corn was 25 cents a pound, and was marketed towards the farming class. Besides the name and the price, candy corn hasn’t changed much; the original recipe is still in use today if you exclude the heresy that is Christmas corn.

Chocolate:

Chocolate goes way back; early 1900 B.C. way back. Even ‘90s kids can’t remember that one. Chocolate was originally created in Mesoamerica as a bitter drink that eventually found its way to Europe via the conquistadors. Chocolate made its way from Spain to France, and over time, people started sweetening the mixture. When the Dutch got their hands on it, the chocolate press was invented, and chocolate suddenly became a solid. The rest is tasty, tasty history.

Salt Water Taffy:

Salt water taffy was originally marketed in Atlantic City, N. J., in the late 19th century. The candy was boiled, pulled, twisted, cut, and wrapped all in sight of people walking down the boardwalk. Rumor has it that one of the shops was flooded with seawater, and that’s how the tasty treat got its name.

Gummy Worms:

Gummy worms were invented when gummy bears hit America in the 1980’s and America couldn’t help but turn the cute little bears into something a bit more disgusting. That’s what we do, right? Gummy candy is made from gelatin, sugar, and many other ingredients, but the most interesting has to be beeswax. Beeswax makes the candy less sticky.

Column by Moriah Hoskins