Rachael Ray's Unexpected Reaction To These Bizarre Halloween Finds

As long as there's money to be made on novel holiday foods, there will be strange products on our grocery store shelves, especially during the Halloween season.

Every fall reminds us that candy corn is a divisive Halloween sweet. Reddit user Kazan645 sums it up well: "It's weird, both delicious and [disgusting] at the same time, and I've never eaten it by choice, at the same time I've never turned it down when given." Nonetheless, candy corn is a fall ritual, and some people can't help buying a bag, if only to display in a decorative bowl for nostalgia's sake. Such a polarizing topic has even caught the attention of food flavor specialists who have studied why people have such a strong reaction to this "very emotional candy" (via NBC 10 Philadelphia).

But there's a sausage maker in Wisconsin who went all-in on candy corn this year, developing and marketing a candy corn bratwurst. Jenifer Street Market added the orange-yellow-and-white confections, clearly visible under the sausage casing, to their traditional Oktoberfest brats, for an interesting flavor combination.

On her eponymous talk show, Drew Barrymore recently put these sausages to the taste test with her guest, Rachael Ray (via YouTube). The Food Network star's reaction was not completely terrible, but the charming Barrymore's expression while chewing the brat could best be described as "hmm."

Rachael Ray's initial reaction to candy corn bratwurst was nonplussed: "I mean, it tastes like candy corn in a bratwurst," she said, as frequent Barrymore show guest Ross Matthews grimaced (via YouTube). "I think I was a better person before I tried that," Matthews quipped. As Barrymore and Matthews struggled to swallow their bites, Ray seemed determined to find the good in the brats, but this was clearly no "yum-o" moment. "It's nice and crispy; has a nice snap to it," she said. So, points for texture, but Ray was mum on the flavor.

(Counterpoint: Minnesota-based Nicholas Tuckner couldn't have loved candy corn bratwurst more. In his review on YouTube, the self-described "kid at heart" gave the sausage a "10.")

The segment segued into a tasting "raw meat marshmallow squares," the invention of a TikTok user. It resembles a typical styrofoam tray of ground beef, with a white grocery store-style sticker in the corner that reads "Human Flesh." The term "squares" is misleading, however. This mass of cereal, red food dye, chocolate syrup, and marshmallow looks exactly like ground beef. Though much grosser-looking than candy corn bratwurst, these got a more positive reaction from the panel, including Ray, who said "I think this is awesome. I love this. I think this is adorable. It's really good. I'm really jamming on this. It's so good."

If you want to stir up some human flesh yourself, you can find the recipe on TikTok.