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 What It Takes to Make Wrigley Gum A stick of gum looks pretty simple, but making it takes the effort and skill of many people all over the world. Most Wrigley gum brands are composed of four main components: Gum Base Sweeteners Softeners Flavorings Gum Base Gum base puts the "chew" in chewing gum, binding all the ingredients together and creating a smooth, soft texture. Historically, gum base was derived from various natural resins, including sorva and jelutong. Some of these ingredients, however, have become scarce in recent years, and new, synthetic gum base materials have been developed. These new materials allow for longer-lasting flavor, improve the texture, and reduce tackiness. The Wrigley Company still uses a number of all-natural rosins, or softeners, in the base. Rosin, which comes from pine trees grown in the southern U.S., enhances the texture of the gum base. Sweeteners The finest grades of pure, powdered cane and beet sugar sweeten Wrigley's gum. Corn syrup also helps sweeten the gum and keeps it fresh and flexible. In sugarfree gum, aspartame, mannitol, and sorbitol replace sugar and corn syrup. Aspartame is a highly concentrated sweetener with a taste virtually indistinguishable from sugar. It is formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two common amino acids found naturally in many foods. Sorbitol and mannitol are also found in some fruits, although most of the raw material used today comes from corn. Softeners Glycerin and other vegetable oil products help to blend the ingredients and keep the gum soft and flexible by retaining the proper amount of moisture. Flavorings The most popular flavors for chewing gum in the U.S. are obtained from mint plants. The basic flavor for Wrigley's Spearmint gum is extracted from fresh garden spearmint plants grown on farms in the United States. The main flavoring for Doublemint comes from an extract of peppermint, also an American farm product. Mint plants must be carefully cultivated for delicate, lasting flavor. After the plants are harvested, they go through a distillation process, which extracts the pure mint oils used in the gum. Flavorings for the other Wrigley brands are derived from a variety of fruit and spice essences. Wrigley chemists and lab technicians work hard to perfect formulations and ensure the pleasant, long-lasting flavor of Wrigley's chewing gum. All ingredients are extensively tested by Wrigley to make sure they are completely safe and wholesome. In addition, since chewing gum is classified as a food product, it must meet the strict standards of the United States Food and Drug Administration. |
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