The Origins of Gum:

Chewing gum began in its earliest form with the Greeks, who were known to chew mastiche made from the sap of the mastic tree. This tree is commonly found in Chios, an island off Greece.



Mastic Tree.

Shortly following the Greeks were the Mayans who chewed a resin called chicle made from the sapodilla tree. Evidence of this dates back as far as the 2^nd century.  This tree is found in Central America, South Mexico and the Caribbean.


Sapodilla Tree.




Sapodilla Distribution in South |Mexico.

In the 19^th century, long after the collapse of the Mayan civilisation, their American ancestors were still attached to this one habit, chewing gum. They chewed a gum made from spruce trees, a very common coniferous tree (evergreen).  Early in the 19^th century the first ever gum products went on sale, still made from spruce trees at this point.



Spruce Tree.

Spruce Distribution in America.

In 1896 the first modern gum recipe appeared, its base was made of chicle, the original Mayan gum but other substances were added to the recipe over time to make the quality gum that we eat today, these include Corn syrup, sugar and flavouring agents.

 References:

http://www.delange.org/MasticTree/MasticTree.htm

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/sapodilla_pictures.htm

http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/sept2009.html

http://www.tree-pictures.com/spruce_tree_pictures.html

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/silviculture/Compendium/SitkaSpruce.htm

http://www.fordgum.com/story_gum.aspx

The Geography of a Stick of Chewing Gum:

Hi, I'm Daniel and this is my blog on the geography of a stick of gum. In this blog I plan to follow a stick of gum from its origin, right through its production.

How did this get to my mouth?