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It's easy & Fun to make your own Chewing Gum from scratch!

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Make your own chewing gum with chicle, the sap of the Sapodilla tree that grows in the rainforests of Central America. Everything you need is included in this kit and it's easy! You can make your own gum on the stove or with a microwave. Great for class room activities, scout troops, birthday parties, home school, or after school groups. Adult supervision is recommended. Makes a great gift for kids (ages 8 & up)!

Inside each Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit you'll find: chewing gum base (containing natural chicle), confectioner's sugar, corn syrup, natural peppermint and fruit flavors, a pan for softening the chicle gum base, instructions and the story of chicle.

And it's really easy: Soften the chicle gum base, either in the microwave or on the stove. Then you add the sugar, corn syrup, and the flavor packets, knead it a little, and WOW! You've made your own gum!

Each Chewing Gum Kit makes enough for 50 pieces! Order Now


Chicle: The sap of the Sapodilla Tree

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Once all chewing gum was made from chicle. That's the sap of the sapodilla tree, which grows in rainforest in Central America. Men called "chicleros" climb up the tall trees, and with their machetes, cut criss-crosses in the trunks so that the sticky sap flowed out. Then the chicle was processed and turned into gum.

Today, most chewing gum is made from synthetic stuff, but the gum base in this kit includes real chicle. So now, chicleros have a reason to harvest the chicle once again and protect their trees.

For more information on sapodilla trees visit: sapodilla trees or chicle.


What does the Gum Kit have to Do with the Rainforests?
Eduardo the Chiclero - And the history of Chewing Gum

 

chiclero stirring a pot of chicle from the sapodilla trees

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Eduardo is a chiclero. That means that he taps Sapodilla trees and collects the sap from them. That sap is called chicle, and it’s the stuff that used to be used all the time to make chewing gum. Nowadays, the gum we buy in stores is made from chemicals and synthetic gum bases, not chicle. That means that there is less work for people like Eduardo.

He lives in the Northern part of Guatemala, in an area called the Peten, which is a rain forest. It’s hard to imagine how different life is there from life in the United States, but you can get an idea by thinking about the rain forest, filled with loads of different kinds of birds, animals, and trees. Because it rains so much, everything grows very quickly and there are plants everywhere. It is very beautiful with all sorts of different colors and sounds.

The problem with living in a rain forest is that it is difficult to make a living there, and it’s hard to get around because there are only really bumpy dirt roads, and only a few of them. There are not many jobs, and many people are very, very poor. They chop down the trees in the forest to make gardens to grow some food, and some of them chop down the trees to sell for lumber. And, pretty soon, if all that chopping continues, there won’t be a forest left at all.

The Sapodilla trees grow wild in the rain forest, and in order to get the chicle, chicleros tap them every 4 or 5 years; they do not chop them down. If more people chew gum made out of chicle, like in THE GUM KIT, the people who live there would have a real reason not to cut down trees. It would make more sense to protect the trees, and tap them for the chicle they produce.

So that is where THE GUM KIT comes in: The more gum you chew made from chicle, the more you help keep Eduardo employed in protecting the rain forest. The whole world thanks you!!!

Want to learn more?


NUTRITION FACTS:

Serving Size 1/10 oz (3.0g) 1 stick of gum
Servings Per Container about 61
Amount Per Serving  
Calories 10  
 
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0 g
0%
Sodium 0 mg
0%
Total Carbohydrates 3 g
1%
Sugars 3 g
 
Protein 0 g  

*Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower based on your calorie needs.

INGREDIENTS:

CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR (SUGAR, CORN STARCH), CHEWING GUM BASE, CORN SYRUP, NATURAL PEPPERMINT FLAVOR, NATURAL FRUIT FLAVOR.

make your own chewing gum educational activity kit - glee gum
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Instructions

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Hi, and welcome to the sticky business of making chewing gum! It’s going to be fun! And, easy - just follow these instructions. Make sure you do this with an adult because you have to use heat. Oh, and one more thing, turn this paper over and read about chicle and chewing gum. We bet you will learn something!

First, find a clean table top for making the gum. Next, find all of the parts of THE GUM KIT:

chicle gum base (the stuff that looks like pellets)
confectioner's sugar
corn syrup
2 flavor packets (peppermint and tutti fruiti)
pan (for microwave or stovetop)

Note: the chicle gum base is very sticky stuff when it melts, which is why we have given you a pan to use when you heat it. Do not use one of your own pans- you will find it very difficult to remove the chicle gum base afterwards.

And, here goes...

1) First, stand the pouch of corn syrup in a teacup and pour in enough boiling water so that the water level is about the same level as that of the corn syrup. It will flow out more quickly when it's hot.

2) Sprinkle about 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar onto the table in a small mound.

3) Melt the chicle gum base, either in a microwave or in a pot on your stove top. For either method, pour the chicle gum base out of its plastic bag and into the black pan. (Do not use the transparent plastic cover)

If you are using a stove: fill a 2 quart pot with about 3 inches of water, and place the pan in the water so that it is floating like a little boat. Cover the pot and boil the water until the chicle gum base is entirely melted. (This can take as much as 20 minutes.) Then, remove the pan.

If you are using a microwave: BE CAREFUL- even though the pan is made for microwaving, it may melt if it gets too hot, so make sure to remove it as soon as the chicle gum base is gooey. Since all microwaves are different, we suggest setting the timer initially to 100% power for 1 1/2 minutes. Then stir the gum base and see if it is soft enough to work with. If it isn't, continue putting it back in for 30 seconds at a time and stirring to see if it's done.

4) Now cut the end of the pouch and squeeze the corn syrup into the chicle gum base. Stir up the mixture and empty it onto the sugar on the table. IT'S REALLY STICKY STUFF, ISN’T IT?

5) Knead it (a rolling and folding motion) just like you would with bread dough, and then divide the gum into two parts on the table. Add the contents of one of the flavor packets into each part.

6) Mix in the remaining sugar to both parts-keep pulling it, tugging it, and poking it, kneading it, whatever! It's worth the hard work!

7) Roll it out, just as you would with cookie dough. You can use anything, a rolling pin, of course, or even a can or bottle you have around the house. Just make sure it’s clean, and sprinkle a bit of the sugar on it so that the gum won’t stick to it.

8) Cut the gum into whatever size pieces you wish and chew a piece or two (or ten!)

9) Wrap up the remaining gum in aluminum foil or wax paper so that you can save some for later.

10) Clean up— If by chance you get some chicle gum base someplace it does not belong, do not panic. Try dissolving it in melted butter (not margarine) or using a commercial solvent.

Now that you know how easy it is to Make Your Own Chewing Gum from scratch, we know that you're going to want to make more!

Order a new kit for your friends, class, scout troop or your next birthday party: Order Now for only $13!
They also make great gifts for kids (ages 8 and up)!

You can also order a Chewing Gum Refill Kit for only $6 (enough chicle gum base to make twice as much gum as was in the KIT and a new black pan to soften it)

And, if you liked our Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit, you'll also like the Make Your Own Chocolate Kit and the Make Your Own Gummies Kit.


Questions and Comments

We'd love to hear about your Make Your Own Kit adventures. Email your stories, photos or questions to: info@gleegum.com

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