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Chewing gum is a type of confectionery which is designed to be chewed, not swallowed. Traditionally, it was made of chicle, a natural latex product, although for reasons of economy and quality many modern chewing gums use petroleum-based polymers instead of chicle. Chicle is nonetheless still the base of choice for some "upscale" gum brands, as well as some regional markets, such as in Japan.
Types
The standard type of gum is a small stick or wad of gum. Gum comes in a variety of flavors, depending on location, and is most often chewed for the flavor.
Nicotine gum is designed especially for people who are trying to quit smoking. The gum contains a small amount of nicotine to combat cravings, and gives the former smoker something to do besides hold a cigarette in his/her mouth.
Several types of gum are designed specifically for dental hygiene, which demands sugar-free ingredients. It has been reported that new versions are being researched by military forces, to assist field staff who need dental hygiene. There are also gums that claim to whiten teeth, clean teeth, and freshen breath. Gum assists oral irrigation between and around the teeth, helping to clean and remove particles of food. However, for teeth in poor condition it may damage or remove loose fillings. It will also not replace regular brushing and flossing.*
There also exist chewing gum brands that contain vitamins, designed for use primarily by children.
Composition and manufacture
The chewing gum is made of a "gum base" with added flavoring and sometimes food coloring . The exact composition of gum bases is usually a trade secret, but common ingredients can be latexes (eg. leche, caspi, sorva, nispero, tunu, jelutong, or chicle, which is still commercially produced), paraffin wax or beeswax, polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, stearic acid, and various natural gums.
Old gum bases were based on latexes, vegetable gums like chicle, spruce gum, or mastic gum. Alternative choices were waxes, eg. paraffin wax and beeswax. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana and at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company are studying the possibility of making gum base with biodegradable zein (corn protein). *
The approximate manufacturing methods are fairly constant between brands. The gum base is melted at a temperature of about 115 °C (240 °F), until it has the viscosity of thick maple syrup, and filtered through a fine mesh screen. Then it is further refined by separating dissolved particulars in a centrifuge, and further filtered. Clear base, still hot and melted, is then put into mixing vats. Other ingredients that may be added include: powdered sugar, whose amount and grain size determines the brittleness of the result, corn syrup and/or glucose which serve as humectants, coat the sugar particles and stabilize their suspension, and keep the gum flexible, various softeners, food colorings, flavorings, preservatives and other additives.
The homogenized mixture is then poured onto cooling belts, and cooled with cold air. Extrusion, optionally rolling and cutting, and other mechanical shaping operations follow. The chunks of gum are then put aside to set for 24 to 48 hours.
Coated chewing gums then undergo other operations. The chunks are wrapped with optional undercoating for better binding with outer layers then immersed into liquid sugar. The pellets are then colored and coated with a suitable glazing agent, usually a wax.
Non-coated varieties are covered in sweetened marble dust to prevent the wrapper from sticking to the product.
Gum and society
Unusual for a confectionery, chewing gum has some health benefits; sugar-free chewing gum stimulates saliva production, and helps to clean the surface of the teeth, whilst even sugary gum may be helpful, as the sugar dissolves out very quickly. Chewing gum has also been identified with improving memory according to various studies. Also, it is known that gum-chewers scored 25% higher than the control group on immediate word recall tests, and 36% higher on delayed word recall tests. Scientists point to three, non-mutually exclusive reasons, the simplest of which attributes the higher scores to the gum-chewers' increased heart rate (and, by extension, increased blood flow to the brain). Despite this, chewing gum is banned in many schools. The chewing process expends 12 calories per hour (14 milliwatts) and chewing gum when travelling on an aircraft can counteract the irritation caused by changes in air pressure. Gum containing the sugar alcohol xylitol can help counteract tooth decay. Minty chewing gum can help clear nasal passages.
Chewing gum adheres firmly to concrete and other hard surfaces, and can only be removed with great effort -- power washing is usually required. It is not uncommon to see urban sidewalks and train platforms speckled with thousands of unsightly patches of dried, discarded gum. For this reason, the sale of chewing gum has been prohibited in Singapore since 1992. * Recently, however, some types of chewing gum (e.g., nicotine replacement gums) have been allowed under strictly monitored distribution. (See Chewing gum ban in Singapore)
Commonly referred to as a stick of gum.
The notorious stickiness of dropped chewing gum is described:
- In the words "I want a bubblegum friend, one who'll stick with me," in a song in the Jay Jay the Jet Plane episode "Missing You".
- In various incidents real and fictional when chewed chewing gum is used as an impromptu adhesive to patch a small hole, e.g. in a rocket pack's fuel tank in the movie The Rocketeer.
An old wives' tale states that chewing gum, if swallowed, may take up to seven years to become fully digested, and that swallowing gum could also result in the substance becoming lodged in the esophagus. Chewing gum does resist complete digestion by the body; it is generally expelled like other foods in 95% of individuals, though relatively unchanged. * In rare cases, some individuals who have been known to swallow chewing-gum regularly and who are predisposed can unfortunately aid the growth of bezoars within their stomachs or intestines.
Some people find these features of chewing gum irritating:
- Chewing gum with mouth open
- Seeing people chewing continually without eating or swallowing. (Sometimes compared to a cow chewing its cud.)
- The unclear distorted speech that results when people talk with chewing gum in their mouths, including when that speech is then subjected to more distortions, e.g. from being transmitted over a telephone or radio link.
- The snapping noise some gum chewers make when small air bubbles are trapped in the gum and then popped by further chewing.
- The 'squishing' noise from the vacuum between the gum and teeth being filled with air as the teeth open.
- Smacking of the lips while chewing gum. As with other foods, this is considered annoying and rude.
Gum in popular culture
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there is a gum-addicted girl called Violet Beauregarde, who turned blue after chewing a piece of Mr. Willy Wonka's chewing gum meal substitute.
The British singer Lonnie Donegan achieved some success with his 1959 novelty song entitled Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour On The Bedpost Overnight?
Michael Jordan would often chew gum during basketball games because he believed that it helped him concentrate.
Gum and military
The U.S. Armed Forces have regulary supplied soldiers with chewing gum since World War I because it helped both to improve the soldiers' concentration and to relieve stress. Recent studies show chewing gum can also improve one's mood. As of 2005, the US military is sponsoring development of a chewing gum formulation with an antibacterial agent, which should be able to replace conventional oral hygiene methods in the battlefield. *
Recently the U.S. Armed Forces have been providing soldiers with caffeinated gum to keep soldiers alert for extended periods of time without experiencing fatigue or drowsiness. Each stick of gum has app. 600 mg of caffiene in it, which is about the same amount as in an average cup of coffee.
cite news
In the American-produced film of Godzilla, a band of French who are trying to stop the monster managed to pass themselves off as US military personnel by chewing gum, as well as being in disguise.
Cleaning stuck gum
- If gum is stuck in the hair, some believe it can be removed with peanut butter. Or an alternative method is to place ice into a bag and keep it on the affected area, it then can be peeled off.
- Gum on clothing can be put in the freezer and then scraped off.
- Purified petrol (not the common "gasoline") dissolves gum, as probably do a lot of other solvents. When cleaning synthetic fabrics, test the solvent on an invisible part of the cloth, to make sure the solvent doesn't dissolve or otherwise destroy the fabric.
Footnotes
See also
Confectionery | Gum | علك | Tyggegummi | Kaugummi | Chicle | Närimiskumm | Purukumi | Chewing-gum | מסטיק | ガム | Gula-gula getah | Kauwgum | Chiclete
"Chewing gum"