Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a flavored, chewable confection made from gum base, sweeteners, and flavorings, designed to be chewed without being swallowed.
Gum base: The insoluble, elastic material that gives chewing gum its chewable texture. It forms the persistent, stretchable part of chewing gum.
Mastic (plant resin): An aromatic resin from the mastic tree, traditionally chewed in the Mediterranean region. It is an ancient natural material chewed for its flavor and texture.
Sugar-free gum: Chewing gum sweetened without sugar, often using polyols or high-intensity sweeteners. It offers a sweetened version while reducing exposure to fermentable sugars.
Chewing candy: A sweet confection designed to be chewed and generally eaten rather than retained in the mouth. Unlike gum, chewing candy is intended to be swallowed.
Chicle: A natural latex obtained from sapodilla trees and historically used as chewing gum base. It was the principal base in early commercial chewing gums.
Sapodilla: A tropical tree whose latex, known as chicle, supplied a traditional chewing-gum base. Its latex became the defining ingredient of early commercial gum.
Chewing gum and oral health: The study of how chewing gum affects saliva, teeth, and oral conditions. Chewing can stimulate saliva, while sugar content changes gum's effects on teeth.
Breath mint: A small flavored confection that dissolves in the mouth to freshen breath. Mints dissolve, whereas gum base remains after its flavor fades.
Sugar alcohol: A low-digestible carbohydrate used as a sweetener in foods such as sugar-free gum. It sweetens many modern gums without using ordinary sugar.
Thomas Adams (inventor): An American inventor and industrialist associated with commercializing chicle-based chewing gum. His manufacturing efforts helped turn chicle into a mass-market confection.