By Chuck Martin
Enquirer staff writer
Candy corn - one of the most popular Halloween treats - is planted in Cincinnati's sweets history. Although a Philadelphia company probably created the sugary kernels in the 1880s, Cincinnati-based Goelitz Confectionery Co. was the first to commercially produce candy corn in 1898. The tri-colored niblets - yellow, orange and white - soon became a Goelitz specialty, leading the company to crown itself "the king of the candy corn field."
The son of a German immigrant, Adolph Goelitz started the company in 1898 on Main Street, downtown, and later moved to East Second Street. Growing demand for candy corn - also called "buttercreams" and "mellocremes" - and other confections convinced the Goelitz family to move to a larger plant in Chicago in 1914. Later, Adolph's brother, Herman, moved to California to open the Herman Goelitz Candy Co. The two firms merged as the Jelly Belly Candy Co. in 2001.
Today, using a secret formula of sugar, corn syrup, marshmallow and flavorings, Jelly Belly makes candy corn at factories in Chicago and Fairfield, Calif. Although Jelly Belly isn't the largest candy corn manufacturer, the distinctive sweet is still one of the company's biggest sellers during the Halloween season. Jelly Belly also makes red, green and white Reindeer Corn during the Christmas holidays; red, pink and white Cupid Corn at Valentine's Day; and lavender, green, yellow and white Bunny Corn at Easter.
The National Confectioner's Association estimates 35 million pounds of candy corn will be sold from August until the end of October. Adolph Goelitz would've dropped his top hat if he heard that.
E-mail cmartin@enquirer.com
