Trick-or-treaters better appreciate their treats this season: The price of Halloween's finest flavor is up 3 percent this year, according to data from the Dining Alliance reported in the Wall Street Journal. The upping of the price of these rot-your-teeth delights (candy corn, in particular) is because of more costly corn oil. The drought is to blame, Timothy Aeppel of the Journal explains. Processed candy isn't the only seasonal goodie affected: apples (and, relatedly, apple cider) are up 20 to 30 percent in cost. And the drought still isn't over. Despite reports today of it receding, Deborah Zabarenko and Ayesha Rascoe of Reuters write that it may instead spread in the coming months, and 2012 could become "the hottest year since modern record-keeping began." 

That said, devotees of the latest food craze—did you hear? Pumpkin's the "new bacon"—don't have to worry, pumpkin prices are remaining stable. If things change, note, as Felix Salmon writes in New York, that often "pumpkin dishes don’t even need any actual pumpkin in them in order to cash in on the warming, autumnal vibe."

Image by EMF via Shutterstock

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Esther Zuckerman