Image borrowed from the Daily Telegraph

Chewing gum doesn’t usually find it’s way into my shopping trolley, but Chicza did! What makes it different is that is is made from the gum of the Chicozapote tree.

This gum is in fact what the earliest US manufactured chewing gum was made of in the 1860s. The gum, Chicle, was imported into the USA to be used as a replacement for rubber, but it was not deemed suitable. Instead Chicle found it’s way into confectionery, and the great fashion for chewing gum was born. The habit of gum chewing had been practiced by the Native Americans, they used the gum of the spruce trees, and this was quickly copied by the settlers. Chicle was preferred to spruce.

The practice of chewing gum is very ancient, and as unlikely as it seems, a piece of birch bark tar has been found in Finland complete with tooth marks. This was dated to about 5,000 years. The Aztec and the Greek also chewed gum, often for medicinal purposes.

During the world wars the troops were given chewing gum and cigarettes to reduce stress levels, and help concentration. This has been updated so that now gum might be formulated with an anti bacterial agent to improve oral hygiene, and some gum has been caffeinated to prevent fatigue and drowsiness.
Today the majority of gum is synthetic rubber, polyisobutylene, the stuff also used for inner tubes or to line tubeless tyres. The reason for the change is economic, much cheaper to produce.

Why consider this latest product? The latex comes from the chicozapote tree from the Mayan rainforest of Gran Peten in south east Mexico. Buying this gum helps protect the rainforest and the way of life for the chicleros and their families. Tastes pretty good too.