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Why does chewing gum lose its flavour?
Every piece of gum goes the same way: bursting with flavour, then sweet, then nothing much at all. That is not bad luck. It is chemistry, and gum makers plan for it.
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A piece of chewing gum is really two things. One part is designed to dissolve: the sugar or sweeteners, the flavourings, acids and softeners. The other part, the gum base, is designed never to dissolve. The flavour lives almost entirely in the first part, and as you chew, it leaves.
Your saliva is washing it away
Gum base is made of polymers that repel water, so saliva cannot touch it. But everything else in the gum does dissolve in saliva, and once it dissolves you swallow it. What you are left with is the gum base, which has no real taste of its own.
The timeline of a chew
Gum makers have studied this closely, and the release happens in stages:
- The first three to four minutes. The bulk sweeteners, sugar in ordinary gum or sweeteners such as sorbitol and maltitol in sugar free gum, dissolve fastest. They carry most of the sweetness, so this is when gum tastes best.
- About four to six minutes. Intense sweeteners and some acids dissolve and wash out. They last a little longer because they dissolve more slowly.
- Around 10 to 15 minutes, or later. In some gums, flavours sealed inside tiny capsules are released. Because the capsules hold on to them, they come out later, sometimes not until 30 to 45 minutes in.
- The end. Finally the softeners, such as corn syrup and glycerine, leach out, and the gum starts to feel firmer.
Why sweetness matters so much
Research shows that people taste gum's flavour better when there is sweetener present. So once the sweetener has gone, even a gum that still has some flavour left can seem to have lost it. That is why modern gums are designed so that sweetener and flavour are released together, in step, for as long as possible.
Can you get the flavour back?
Not really, because the flavour has been swallowed. Some people add a fresh piece to an old one, which works because the new piece brings its own sugar and flavour. Once the fun has gone, the best place for the old gum is in a tissue and in the bin. Never on the pavement: see why gum is so hard to get off pavements.
Is there a benefit to chewing after the flavour goes?
For your teeth, possibly. Chewing sugar free gum after a meal gets saliva flowing, which helps wash the mouth. See is chewing gum good for your teeth?.
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Questions and answers
Why does gum lose its flavour so quickly?
Most of the flavour and sweetness is in ingredients that dissolve in saliva. The sugar or bulk sweetener, which gives much of the taste, is chewed out in the first three or four minutes.
Why does gum stay chewy after the flavour has gone?
The gum base is made of polymers that repel water, so saliva cannot dissolve it. That is also why you should not swallow it.
How do some gums last longer?
Makers wrap some flavours in tiny capsules that release slowly, and add sweeteners designed to come out later, so the taste is spread over a longer chew.
Sources
- Chewing gum, Wikipedia
- Gum base, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Questions people askWhat is chewing gum made of?Chewing gum is gum base, sweeteners, softeners, flavourings and colours, often with a hard coating. Here is what each part does, and what gum base really is.
- How it is madeHow is chewing gum made?Gum base is melted and filtered, mixed warm with sweeteners and flavours into a dough, then extruded, shaped, cut, coated and wrapped. Here is each step.
- Questions people askWhat happens if you swallow chewing gum?Swallowed gum is not digested, but it does not stay inside you either. It passes through in a day or two. Here is what happens, and when to worry.
- Questions people askIs chewing gum good for your teeth?Sugar free gum can help teeth: chewing it after a meal makes saliva, which washes away food and acid. Sugary gum does the opposite. Xylitol may help most.
- History and originsThe history of chewing gumPeople have chewed gum for at least 5,000 years, from birch tar in Stone Age Finland to Maya chicle. Modern gum began in 1860s New York with a failed rubber.
- Questions people askWhy is chewing gum so hard to get off pavements?Gum bonds to pavements and shoe soles because they are made of similar polymers. Removing it needs steam and scrapers, and costs cities a fortune.