What Gum Is Made Of

Many of us chew gum. We all know the mint or fruit gums that freshen up our mouth after chewing them. But few people actually know what gum is made of.

We at 5-Minute Crafts found out what gum is made of.

The main ingredient

It might seem that gum mostly consists of gum base. But it’s not really true. The main part of gum is the sweeteners that are 40-50 % of the weight. There are bulk and intensive sweeteners. The bulk ones are responsible for the initial sweetness you feel when you put a gum into you mouth. The intensive ones are responsible for prolonging the effect. The intensive sweeteners are sometimes encapsulated to delay the effect.

The bulk sweeteners may consist of sugar alcohol that doesn’t have any calories, such as sugar, glucose, dextrose, or corn syrup. And intensive sweeteners are synthetic aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.

Other ingredients

Gum base is about 25-35 % of the entire weight. The gum base is made from 3 main components: resin, wax, and elastomer. Resin is the main chewable part, wax is there to make it softer, and elastomers add flexibility. The molecular composition of gum base is very similar to that of plastics and rubbers.

Also, gum includes glycerine (2-15 %) for moisture, softener (1-2 %), and flavors (1,5-3 %). Some gums might include natural and synthetic colorants making the product look more attractive and make the coating.