This perhaps comes as a surprise, but did you know that chewing gum is one of the oldest candies in the world?
Historians tell us that civilisations around the world were chewing natural gum thousands of years ago. The ancient Greeks regularly chewed on tree resin to clean their teeth and freshen their breath, and called their discovery mastiche. Several Native American tribes extracted gum from the sapodilla tree by a process that is similar to tapping syrup from maple trees. The Mayans cultivated sacred groves of sapodillas in the forests of what is now Southern Mexico. The Aztecs called the sap they derived from the trees tzitktli (translated chicle in English) in Nahuatl, the language of
the Aztecs. Gradually the Aztecs by mixing chicle with fragrant tar and insect grease, made a softer gum.
Sapodilla sap gained entry into the US with the arrival of Antonio López de Santa Anna, a Mexican political leader, general, and president. Battling a series of political setbacks at home, Santa Anna moved to Staten Island in New York, to live in exile. A man who was fond of chewing chicle, he brought the first shipment of chicle into America for personal use. He persuaded Thomas Adams his landlord-inventor, to try chicle as a cheap additive to latex to reduce the cost of making rubber. Adams bought a tonne of chicle from the former to try making toys, tires and boots and was unsuccessful in all his attempts. Adams who had seen Santa Anna chewing the stuff inadvertently popped a small piece into his mouth and that was the beginning of the modern chewing gum industry. Adams decided to use chicle as a substitute for the popular paraffin-based gums. The natural gum resin chicle, had a unique ability to retain flavor and helped to popularise chewing gum. The new product that Adams created was called Adams New York No 1 — Snapping and Stretching Gum. Adams created flavoured gum including the Tutti-Frutti, and the classic sugarcoated Chiclets. His company was the first to introduce vending machines for chewing gum.
During World War II mass marketing changed the chewing gum business. Military personnel spread the popularity of chewing gum by trading it and giving it as gifts to people in Europe, Africa, Asia and around the world. The chicleros, who tapped sapodilla trees, could not keep up with the massive demand, so scientists began to stir up different substitutes. In recent years the demand for organic alternatives has preserved the traditional livelihood of the chicleros.
Today there are hundreds of varieties of gum sold around the world. The broad spectrum ranges from ball gum, bubble gum, candy gum, center filled gum to tube gum or spaghetti gum. You can find crystal-speckled gum, gum that won’t stick, fruit gum or gum in crazy shapes. Next time you get to the candy aisle to pick up the ubiquitous chewing gum, spare a thought for the sapodilla tree before you chew on!
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