I have a question about gum?

Question

Ok my cousin told me some gum is made out of elephant snot is that true. Can someone tell me what gum is REALLY made of.

Answer 1

Up until WWII, chewing gum was made of a substance called chicle mixed with flavorings. Chicle is a latex sap that comes from the sapodilla tree (native to Central America). In other words, chicle is a form of rubber. Just like rubber bands don't dissolve when you chew them, neither does chicle. Chicle is a good bit softer than rubber bands and happens to soften more when it gets warm in your mouth. If you freeze chicle with ice, it gets very stiff -- chicle hardens and softens over a pretty narrow temperature range.

After WWII, chemists learned how to make artificial gum bases to replace chicle. These gum bases are essentially synthetic rubbers that have the same temperature profile as chicle.

Gum bases (either natural or artificial) are mixed with sugar and other flavorings to make chewing gum. When you chew it, the rubber releases these flavorings into your mouth

Answer 2

gum is made out of rubber sap....artifical flavor....sugar...glucose.....and lax that what it said in a passage i read in skool

Answer 3

Gum is made of all chemicals.Nothing in it having anything to do with elephants. Though some gum was originally  made with some cow bone marrow.,Similar to Jello. The original gum was made from Tree sap and some bees nest.

Answer 4

Gum base puts the "chew" in chewing gum, binding all the ingredients together and creating a smooth, soft texture.

Historically, gum base was derived from various natural resins, including sorva and jelutong. Some of these ingredients, however, have become scarce in recent years, and new, synthetic gum base materials have been developed. These new materials allow for longer-lasting flavor, improve the texture, and reduce tackiness.

The Wrigley Company still uses a number of all-natural rosins, or softeners, in the base. Rosin, which comes from pine trees grown in the southern U.S., enhances the texture of the gum base.

Sweeteners

The finest grades of pure, powdered cane and beet sugar sweeten Wrigley's gum. Corn syrup also helps sweeten the gum and keeps it fresh and flexible.

In sugarfree gum, aspartame, mannitol, and sorbitol replace sugar and corn syrup. Aspartame is a highly concentrated sweetener with a taste virtually indistinguishable from sugar. It is formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two common amino acids found naturally in many foods. Sorbitol and mannitol are also found in some fruits, although most of the raw material used today comes from corn.

Softeners

Glycerin and other vegetable oil products help to blend the ingredients and keep the gum soft and flexible by retaining the proper amount of moisture.

Flavorings

The most popular flavors for chewing gum in the U.S. are obtained from mint plants. The basic flavor for Wrigley's Spearmint gum is extracted from fresh garden spearmint plants grown on farms in the United States. The main flavoring for Doublemint comes from an extract of peppermint, also an American farm product.

Mint plants must be carefully cultivated for delicate, lasting flavor. After the plants are harvested, they go through a distillation process, which extracts the pure mint oils used in the gum.

Flavorings for the other Wrigley brands are derived from a variety of fruit and spice essences. Wrigley chemists and lab technicians work hard to perfect formulations and ensure the pleasant, long-lasting flavor of Wrigley's chewing gum.

All ingredients are extensively tested by Wrigley to make sure they are completely safe and wholesome. In addition, since chewing gum is classified as a food product, it must meet the strict standards of the United States Food and Drug Administration.