Halloween Ewsweek: Debating the Evils of Candy Corn and Mellowcreme Pumpkins

Halloween is a time for pumpkins, dress-up and, most of all, candy. But the treat most commonly associated with the holiday—candy corn—is divisive enough to break up friendships and end marriages. You're either a fan of the waxy, tricolor confection or you're convinced it's a conspiracy to destroy our teeth and possibly our internal organs.

Candy corn's lesser-known cousin is the mellowcreme pumpkin, a 1-inch high neon-orange sugar gourd. The two foods have a similar ingredients list—sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, gelatin and a litany of artificial flavors—and turned out to be equally as conflicting.

Here are our reviews.

Cady: I love this, because I love candy corn. Our editor tells me candy corn is made from the high-fructose corn syrup that falls out of the vat onto the floor and then gets scraped up, which I suppose is why it's so deliciously flavorful. So I say these pumpkin things are 10 out of 10. Would binge-eat.

Paula: I adore candy corn, so I ate this entire pumpkin corn in hopes that it would be of the same corn-syrupy nectar. Au contraire. This tastes like an eraser masquerading as candy corn. I feel duped.

Michele:I feel like I am cheating because I had about 10 of these last night at book club, but this pumpkin tastes like a more sugary, two-bite candy corn. I am going to have a sugar high before 11 a.m.

Polly:Candy corn is incredible. I could eat an entire bag of it if left to my own devices. The pumpkin has a strange texture: It's notably waxier, but it's also cuter. But I'm here for eating, not cuteness, so candy corn wins.

Shefali:The pumpkin feels like sugarcoated eraser shavings in my mouth, but I'm pro–candy corn. It should be eaten by layer. The bottom layer is my favorite, but I watched a Food Network special on candy corn and turns out they are all the "same" flavor.

Ryan:A+. I love the pumpkins. And candy corn too. Candy corn is better. Pumpkins are like the uglier cousin of candy corn but still good, still the same family.

Joanna:I don't like pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pie or several other highly popular pumpkin-related food items. These corn syrup–infused candies are one of the only pumpkin foods I like. They are like fluffier candy corns, so I only have to eat half a bag of them instead of a full bag of regular candy corn.

John:I don't like candy corn. The pumpkin was better than most candy corn but seemed too much. Perhaps I should've taken a bite instead of putting the entire thing in my mouth.

Seung:As an immigrant who moved to this great nation 15 years ago, there are still things I can't understand why Americans love so much. Candy corn is somewhere at the top of the list. Why is this a thing? Candy corn tastes awful and unoriginal. But I did try the pumpkins years ago, and I actually liked them. I don't know. My standards are all over the place.

Lucy:I enjoy the fact that this little pumpkin could probably withstand a nuclear apocalypse. It doesn't taste good at all—halfway between marzipan and chalk. But would I line these up on my desk as seasonal decorations? Yes, I would.

Elijah:The pumpkins taste exactly like candy corn but even better because they are bigger, so there is more of them to eat. I love candy corn. People who don't like candy corn probably just ate too much candy as kids and are jaded.