This may come as a surprise to some, but sweet corn has been in circulation for over a hundred years. This popular confection was the brainchild of George Renninger, who was an employee of the Wunderlee Candy Company in 1880 and the candy was first produced there. In 1900, the Goelitz Candy Company began producing sweet corn. The company changed its name to Jelly Belly Candy Company and continues to produce sweet corn to this day.
The first batches of sweet corn were simple and became popular with Midwestern farmers and consumers. This was due to its agrarian “corn grain” appearance. When the manufacturers added a tri-color design, it was revolutionary and caused a craze across the country. However, the lack of machinery meant that the caramel beans were manufactured seasonally; only from March to November. The appearance and taste of classic sweet corn have remained the same throughout the century of its production.
In its first years of production, sweet corn has been produced mostly by hand by thousands of people who worked during the eight months of the year that it was in season. The process for making sweet corn is similar to making most sweet products, but with additional steps.
Like most sweets, sugar, corn syrup, and other ingredients were placed in large teapots that were heated until they became a slurry. Then marshmallows and fondant were added to the mixture to give the caramel a smooth, crunchy consistency. When the desired texture was achieved, the forty-five pounds of hot treats were poured into large cubes called runners. These runners were then carried by people called stringers. These stringers walked backwards while pouring the candy into trays. These trays were printed with grain shapes and filled with cornstarch. The stringers made three passes and poured in different colored candies to give it the distinctive tricolor look of sweet corn. The three colors were white, yellow, and orange. The sweet corn was then cooled, hardened, and the cornstarch allowed it to easily peel off the mold. They were then grouped into bags. In the early years, the caramel grains were presented in special wooden boxes, tubs and cartons. They were then delivered to candy stores in a cart.
Today, the process of making sweet corn is mainly done by machines, but the process, in essence, has not changed much. Modern candy makers use a method called the “Cornstarch Molding Process.” In this process, a tray with depressions filled with cornstarch is used and the sweet corn is made from the bottom up in three color passes to produce the tricolor effect. The first step in the process is to fill a quarter of the depression in the tray with yellow syrup which is then allowed to partially set. When it is hard enough, pour the orange syrup over the yellow syrup leaving enough space and again it is allowed to partially set. When it’s ready, the depression is filled with the white syrup and cooled until it sets. In the cooling process, the three layers can stick together. When cold, the candies are removed from the trays and turned into small three-colored caramel grains. The corn candies are grouped and bagged and then shipped to the different candy stores nationwide.
