Gum chewers may not realize the intricate process that goes into creating the snack, but all companies have a similar process. The first chewing gum machine was not even patented and remains the industry standard.
Ingredients
Chewing gum is made mostly of organic and artificial latex and sweeteners such as natural sugars like corn syrup or cane sugar.
Harvesting Latex
Latex must be harvested and processed from a chicle tree, which is scored with a series of marks that will allow the chicle to flow off the tree and into a bucket. The collected chicle is strained, put in kettles with oil and stirred.
Mold
Once the chicle has decreased to two-thirds of its initial volume, it is poured into molds and left to dry for two days.
Purification
After two days the molds are cooked in kettles until the chicle becomes a type of syrup. A purification process begins involving filtering the concoction through a series of increasingly fine screens.
Additives
The base is mixed with additives--powdered sugar and syrup first, then flavorings and softeners.
Cutting and Completion
The mix is then rolled onto belts and kneaded for three hours by machine. Sections are separated and flattened before a cutting machine cuts them into a gum-stick shape.
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