Chocolate, Candy and More

Gum has been chewed for a long time. The Indians chewed sap from certain trees long before the Europeans arrived on the American continent. The Mayans and the Greeks also chewed their own types of gum. Bubble gum was originally invented by a man names Frank Henry Fleer in 1906 but was later perfected by Walter E. Diemer in 1928. This type of gum was less sticky and stretched more easily than other types of gum and became so popular that it sold over half a million dollars in the first year. This gum is made especially for blowing bubbles and is usually pink in color with it's own particular flavor.

One day after Diemer invented the gum, he took a five pound batch over to a local grocery store and sold it all within the first day! Since that first day, bubble gum has grown into a one billion dollar business! This gum was not produced to have an excellent flavor or to do anything but blow great big bubbles. Diemer and the company he worked for even began training their employees to blow large bubbles in order to show customers how it worked. Diemer also invited children from his neighborhood to his house and have bubble blowing contests.

Though bubble gum looks like a simple product and one that is not hard to make, it actually can only be made with the right equipment and at the effort of many people. Bubble gum is made with five main ingredients; gum base, softeners, sugar, flavorings, and colors. Gum base is the ingredient that puts the "chew" into normal gum and the "bubble" into bubble gum. Gum base is made from rosin, a product that comes from the pine trees of the southeastern and southern part of the United States.

Softeners are made with refined vegetable oils and helps in blending the gum base ingredients and keeps the gum soft and flexible. Sweeteners are normally sugar or some sort of corn sweetener, and the color gives bubble gum a more appealing appearance. The process begins with accurate measuring of products. When all the products are blended together, the mixture is passed through rollers that have been placed close together and reduces the gums thickness. The bubble gum is eventually pressed into the exact thickness desired, scored into single sticks, long tapes or prepared in some other way and is then ready for packing.