Maybe Candy Corn Isn’t the Problem — It’s How We Judge It

Maybe candy corn isn’t the problem — it’s how we judge it

Like a lot of people, I grew up thinking that candy corn was the worst candy you could get on Halloween. For years, decades even, I dodged candy corn. The orange, yellow, and white triangles looked like small pieces of chalk inside a bag. At the end of the season, they were always the candy that people left behind. I realized that you either really loved candy corn or hated it; there was no in-between. Knowing that I had never really given the c…

Think Candy Corn Tastes Like Candle Wax and Sadness? Science Says There’s a Reason

Turns out Halloween's most controversial candy is a masterclass in sugar science and sensory confusion.Getty Images / Nodar ChernishevIn a NutshellCandy corn may taste like pure sugar and nostalgia, but there's real science behind why people have such extreme opinions about it. Its one-note sweetness and chewy texture divide us by overloading the brain's reward system and confounding its expectations. Love it or hate it, that clash is exactly wh…