Today after dinner, my husband said that his friend at work, Rick, got him some “original” chewing gum from an area near Campeche, Mexico. It is called chicle.
Rick was very kind to give him a little extra to bring some home to the family. I expected to see something packaged like Wrigley’s chewing gum, maybe with Spanish words on it.
However, it looked like this:
The real gum looks like a large block of taffy.
I cut a small sliver and have been chewing gum for the last twenty minutes.
What does this gum taste like, you ask?
My answer: it is much like describing what water tastes like; it has no taste of its own. Chicle is neither minty nor sweet, but it still freshened my breath. It is uncorrupted, it is pure, much like what the ancient Maya used to eat.
I am glad Rick got us a piece of the real chewing gum- a taste we would not have ever known. Thank you, Rick!
Did you know, most chewing gum companies have switched from using chicle to butadiene-based synthetic rubber, which is cheaper to manufacture. The only U.S. gum company still using chicle is Glee Gum.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicle
I have never tried Glee gum. Have you? What is you favorite gum brand and flavor? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
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