It is chemically similar to petroleum tar and is in this way different from most other early gum. The tar from which the gums were made is believed to have antiseptic properties and other medicinal benefits. 5,000-year-old chewing gum made from birch bark tar, with tooth imprints, has been found in Kierikki in Finland. Ĭhewing gum in many forms has existed since the Neolithic period.

Early chewers did not necessarily desire to derive nutritional benefits from their chewable substances but at times sought taste stimuli and teeth cleaning or breath-freshening capabilities. Each early precursor to chewing gum was derived from natural growths local to the region and was chewed purely out of the instinctual desire to masticate. The cultural tradition of chewing gum seems to have developed through a convergent evolution process, as traces of this habit have arisen separately in many early civilizations. This way of extracting by making zigzag incisions has been known since the ancient Mayan civilization, who called it sicté. History Sticks of Fruit Stripe chewing gum Traditional extraction of chicle from chicozapote tree ( Achras zapota) in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Its texture is reminiscent of rubber because of the physical-chemical properties of its polymer, plasticizer, and resin components, which contribute to its elastic-plastic, sticky, chewy characteristics. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed.

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