| Neutral | QCHammy | On Sep 12, 2008, QCHammy from San Tan Valley, AZ (Zone 9a) wrote: Chicle is a natural gum which is derived from this tree. It was traditionally used in chewing gum. While the Wrigley Company was a prominent user of this material, today there are only a few companies that still make chewing gum from natural chicle. This is because by the 1960s chicle was replaced by butadiene-based synthetic rubber which was cheaper to manufacture.
Chiclets are named after chicle.
The name "chicle" comes from the Nahuatl word for the gum, tziktli ['ʦikt͡ɬi], which can be translated as "sticky stuff".
The tapping of the gum is similar to the tapping of latex from the rubber tree: zig-zag gashes are made in the tree trunk and the dripping gum is collected in small bags. It is then boiled until it reaches the correct thickness. Due to widespread tapping, the Manilkara chicle tree has become scarce and other sources like the related balatá (Manilkara bidentata) are increasing in use. |
