Steven Smoker, age 11, of Leola, Penn., for his question:
HOW IS CHEWING GUM MADE?
A lot of dentists today recommend that if chewing gum is used by their patients, it should be sugarless gum. They say that the sugar in gum can contribute to tooth decay. Many of the gum manufacturers make this type of gum available.
Chewing gum today is being produced by more than 500 different companies in over 90 countries.
Chewing gum is a confection that is chewed but not swallowed. Lots of people in all parts of the world enjoy the taste of gum and say that it helps relieve the boredom of handling monotonous jobs.
A number of medical reports have shown that the act of chewing anything aids in concentration and that it also reduces tension.
What are the most popular flavors of chewing gum today? You're right if you said spearmint, peppermint, fruit and cinnamon.
An insoluble, rubberlike gum base is the main ingredient of chewing gum. At one time a rubbery material called chicle was used. Chicle is made by boiling down the milky juice of the sapodilla tree.
During the mid 190Qs, synthetic gum bases that resemble chicle were discovered. These gum bases are made of synthetic rubber, waxes, a plastic substance called vinyl resin and other types of plastics. Sometimes synthetic gum bases are mixed with chicle and other natural gums.
Gum manufacturers also add softeners, sweeteners and flavoring to gum base.
The manufacturing process starts by melting the gum base in kettles and then pouring the soft, warm material through strainers for purification. Flavoring and sweeteners are next mixed in along with softeners that help the gum retain moisture.
The blended gum is then rolled into thin, flat sheets and allowed to cool and harden.
Machines next cut the gum and break it into individual sticks. Often the chewing gum is sprinkled with powdered sugar. Finally other machines wrap each stick and then package the gum so that it will be ready for distribution.
Chewing gum was made by the ancient Greeks from the sap of the mastic tree. And the Mayan Indians of Mexico chewed chicle more than 1,000 years ago.
Indians in New England taught the white settlers to chew gum made from the hardened sap of the spruce tree. Other people enjoyed chewing paraffin.
A New York City druggist named, Thomas Adams boiled chicle and started manufacturing gum in 1860.
Bubble gum was first made in 1928.