Chicle

Chicle is the natural gum from Manilkara chicle, which is a tropical evergreen tree native to southern North America and South America. 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 natural chewing gum was replaced by butadiene rubber (this was cheaper to manufacture). Chiclets are named after chicle.

The name "chicle" comes from the Nahuatl word for the gum, tziktli, which can be translated as "sticky stuff". Chicle was well known to the Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs and to the Maya (Amerindians), and early European settlers prized it for its subtle flavour and high sugar content.

Locals who collect chicle are called chicleros.

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. Many modern chewing gums use petroleum-based plastic instead of chicle.

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