sink your teeth in….
by bam
let us all kneel down at the altar of george renninger, that long-ago willie wonka who back in philly in the 1880s dreamed up the tri-color corn that, back in milwaukee in the 1970s, fueled many a night’s study in my tucked-away nook in the college library, dotted the trail from my little one’s bed to his pumpkin this morn, and generally suffices for vegetable this time of year.
in fact, in that parade of national days of this-or-that that never seems to cease, today, we are told, is national candy corn day.
so be it.
have a handful.
while you’re letting the orange and the yellow melt in your mouth, whirl over your tongue, get stuck in the tight spots there in your teeth. chew on this:
ol’ george, who was working for the wunderlee candy company at the time, musta been pluckin’ ears off the stalks when suddenly it struck him, oh, jeepers, this might work in high-fructose form.
so he strolled, yes he did, to his candy laboratory and had at it. poured in some straight-up sugar, added corn syrup, and honey to boot.
poured it into itty-bitty teepee-shaped molds, first the globs of yellow, then orange, and finally the tidbit of white (which, for anatomical correctness, i’ll note is actually the bottom not the top of the confectioner’s glob. ahem. apparently i can now add this to the long list of kernels of knowledge i’ve managed to turn on their heads).
the corns, we are told, were a hit. especially with the new england farmers. who likely found it tastier than the stuff straight from the cobs.
over the years, we’ve gone gaga.
i know for a fact (cuz i’ve watched with my very own eyes) i’m not the only one on the planet who cannot stop once i get started. (perhaps it’s genetic since it’s my firstborn who cannot keep from scarfing in fistfuls.)
does it help you to know that there are a mere 3.57 calories per kernel?
or that a cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of good-for-you raisins?
does it matter to you that some 9 BILLION pieces are gobbled up every year, enough to circle the earth 4.25 times, candy corn triangle tucked up to triangle?
perhaps, you’d like to whip up a batch all on your own, brach’s be darned.
well, then, here’s how:
d-i-y candy corns
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup white corn syrup
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• several drops food coloring (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
directions:
Combine sugar, white corn syrup and butter in pan, bring to boil stirring CONSTANTLY. Turn heat low and boil 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and add vanilla and several drops food coloring (optional) Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar, salt and powdered milk Add all at once to mixture in pan. Stir until cool enough to handle. Knead until stiff enough to hold its shape. Shape into triangles, or any shape desired.
i’m dashing right now to a halloween parade, followed by bowling for 8-year-olds, followed by bowl after bowl of that renninger special, the corn that fueled my college diploma.
be back with more substance. for now it’s all fluff.
anyone else as mad for the stuff as i am? if not, what’s your sugary downfall?
I have to disagree with you on this one, bam. I can’t stand the candy kernels. Not sure why since I have an enormous sweet tooth. My all time favorite candy is the Carmarsh — a delectable confection that has gone the way of the dinosaurs. It was made by Fannie May back in the day and was a delicious rectangle of marshmallow sitting atop a layer of caramel covered in dark chocolate. Heavenly. But alas no more. I have only sweet memories.
I am right there with you on the candy corn. I love it more than I should. I am going trick-or-treating tomorrow night (one is never too old, right? Not even at 20?) and I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t get any candy corn.
all right then. sounds like we’re drawing a line in the sugar here. we’ve got the carmashes in one corner, and us corners in the other…..anyone else? while we’re at it, i’ve always loved an almond joy, all that coconut, with the pert crunchy almond on top. robed in chocolate as they say. now there’s a job, writing the copy for a candy company. still not as fun as coming up with names for paint colors…..i love lookin at that picture of bigger-than-life corn over there. mmmm. survived halloween parade in the mist. bowling with 8 year olds. the man with the book deadline made the briefest appearance and has now darted back down to the office. ah well. another night, just me and the boys. and the candy corn. someone hide the candy corn….
i LOVE candy corn. even though my mom doesn’t like me to. but i sometimes SNEAK one or two pieces on halloween.
Line drawn….and I am on the other side. I never got “candy corn” or (sorry bam) Almond Joy or it’s cousin, the Mound Bar. Coconut sends me in the other direction. I am not sure if it is genetic. Ivy, we will have do a family poll here to sort this out! I like my sweets…..Reese Cups and Good and Plenty and the occasional nut/chocolate bar and …..hmmm. That’s it. I like bread, potatoes, and salt. – but this in not a typical Halloween moment. This line is actually a lovely thing because it leaves so much more for you corny types. Happy Halloween!
Ok, my turn to chime in here. Sorry bam … you know I love ya more than my luggage (to borrow a line from ‘Steel Magnolias’), but I’m not a fan of the candy corn. An Almond Joy sends me to the moon and back and a Mallo Cup makes me swoon but the tri-color confection just isn’t for me. hh … I love the Fannie Mae Trinidads … do they still make ’em? My sister in law (who hails from Rockford) made a point of getting me my fix every Christmas but they’ve not shown up on the holiday goodie table for the last few years.bam … who else but you would actually find a way to make those little candies at home! Once again, you cease to amaze me. Enjoy! :o)
It’s been a bad day – the worst of worst. My brother and I moved my mom out of her assisted living apartment. All of her earthly possessions are now in a storage facility. Wasn’t easy or fun. Right now, in some sense of the word, my mother is homeless. But, there’s always candy corn to make it all better. A few weeks ago, I bought a bag and we shared it at the nursing home she’s at. To me, that was a sacred moment – my mom, me, Brach’s, and it was autumn. My other issues were swept to side in honor of sugar and the rest of the good stuff. I know she enjoyed it as much as I did, and that brings me all kinds of peace! Happy Halloween to everyone here!
Ok … after reading Jack’s comment I now love candy corn …………………
well now, when out on a heist – which may be ringing a doorbell well past dusk on this eve of ghosts and goblins – i always keep a stash in my jewel bag, better than trail mix! but we need parse carefully, to distinguish between the candy corn and its high fructose cousin the pumpkins – those with the green leaves atop, and occasionally the brown bottoms, well, sometimes i think the corns too come in the brown bottoms, sort of a late autumn variety – i really am not certain about that varietal – but i do prefer without a doubt the early autumn tri-color candy corn: yellow, orange and white. we should point out that the pumpkins have mass, meaning you bite into them whereas you bite through the corns. so there are specifications to keep in mind, “mouth feel” the cornologist might say, but all in all that brachs’ autumn candy line is as certain a part of autumn as that old cartoon – growing up in chicago, it always ran in the tribune round about this time – of the grandpa and infant out burning leaves, with smoke that wafts upward into the shape of indians past.
I am right there with JACK even though I’m on the opposing side of the candy corn debate….we just moved my mother-in-law from her beautiful assisted living apt into a nursing home….and we all shared a giant Hershey’s chocolate bar yesterday afternoon….trying to bring sweet memories into that new place.
PJV…I am with you and for the sake of solidarity with Jack and HH, I will not eat candy corn, but honor it with all my heart. Thank goodness for the sweetness we can occasionally enjoy during the hardest of days.
lamcal … as always, beautiful.hh … the giant Hershey bar is so symbolic of the hugeness (if that’s even a word) of your heart sweetie …………
Cannot believe there has been no mention of the “1000 dollar bar” a tasty mix of chocolate, caramel and crunch combined to spell halloween in all its sugary glory to me. I do not eat them, or even think about them at any other time of year, but for a few brief days, they cast a sugary spell! Time to go “check” on the kid’s now that they have returned to school.
Thanks to hh, I found my beloved Trinidads on the Fannie May website and with the wonderful invention of on-line ordering, I know what I’m getting for Christmas!
oh my goodness, bring a little candy to the table, and what happens? talk, talk, talk galore. maybe i ought to occasionally dub this, pull up a (blank) bar. fill in your fix of choice. but seriously we have JACK up there, in a serious state of heartache, and god bless that you and yours found respite in a bag of tri-colors. i’m with the two who now join in solidarity and see the virtue of candy corn in a new light (even though i never saw it in a bad light). 1000 dollar bars? hmm, never gave those a thought. JACK thinkin of you, now that i’ve pulled up after a spell and see that you’ve been going through h-e-doublebroomsticks as they say…..
Two Chicahgo boys weighing in here……… me, I like those peanut butter kisses, you know, the ones that come wrapped in either the orange or black paper with the twisted ends. They’re kind of like a peanut buttery caramel? with a bit of peanut butter in the center and the ‘later autumn’ variety of candy corn, the brown bottomed ones. My brother, Elwood, he likes the traditional candy corn, he was remembering when he would find them in his lunchbox, bam maybe it is genetic…….oh, and Elwood said to tell you, “We’re on a mission from Gahhd”
i’ma packin up and moving slowly along in a trudgingly way when out of the blue bam! you left a comment and i said to myself…get up extra early one of these mangled all together days and vist the table…if i’m still too much absently gone, welcomed. and what is it i find but a full room full of candyholics. yay!!! i need this and that and jack, my heart to you, and candy corn! of course! halloween has passed and yet i never met up with the sweet staple of fall…and honest to boot-my favorite. must find some today, perhaps on the half off rack and i will nibble and remember as always, your nugget nudging encouragement.and i’ve tried to follow up here in the darkness before the dawn,stars and wonder,finding the sacred when discovery took over. oh yes, as always- the journeys you take, softly, splendidly, sincerely- your loving steps to guide and hide all the sweepings away of sorrow. and the tree, drenched. the tree that will blossom i bet in spite of the over abundance of moisture. you have a way…the tree understands and will undoubtably show you next spring…as you feared your love for one and all would take anything at all away from the sprout-it’s return of love all leafed out just for you. and you’ll remember in ways we’ll all have to wait for- as you carve out the story in your more way. always more here, there…thank you dear, will keep in touch.leaving for maine on the 16th, still a truewonder and all, blog too…visit my heart in your own good time.be well, take care-
Maine, true? Forever, or just a visit? And Jack. Sigh. Bring on the candy. Nab those moments. Sounds like you’re doing well at that. Well I came here to weigh in on candy corn and found a whole lot more. I must say, now that I’m here: I LOVE CANDY CORN. I love biting it into three parts, I love the way it squinches into my teeth, I love the merry colors. And I know I am in a small minority, but that’s okay. Now that I’m of a certain age I can’t hide my affection for this stupid candy, and I don’t care who knows. But here at the table, at least, are a few like-minded candy corn sympathizers! I should have known.