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Chicle is the natural gum
Natural gum

Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, Emulsion and Food additive#Categoriess....
 from Manilkara chicle, which is a tropical evergreen tree native to Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
. The tree ranges from Veracruz
Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
 in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 south to Atlántico in Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It was traditionally used in chewing gum
Chewing gum

Chewing gum is a type of confection traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber. For reasons of economy and quality, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle....
. 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 chicle was replaced by butadiene-based synthetic rubber
Synthetic rubber

Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially made polymer material, which acts as an elastomer. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more Elasticity deformation under stress, than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation....
 which was cheaper to manufacture.

Chiclets
Chiclets

Chiclets are a brand of candy coated chewing gum made by Cadbury Adams.The colors of the chiclets are: yellow, green, orange, red, white ,and pink....
 are named after chicle.

The name "chicle" comes from the Nahuatl word for the gum, tziktli , which can be translated as "sticky stuff".






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Encyclopedia


Chicle is the natural gum
Natural gum

Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, Emulsion and Food additive#Categoriess....
 from Manilkara chicle, which is a tropical evergreen tree native to Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
. The tree ranges from Veracruz
Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
 in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 south to Atlántico in Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It was traditionally used in chewing gum
Chewing gum

Chewing gum is a type of confection traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber. For reasons of economy and quality, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle....
. 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 chicle was replaced by butadiene-based synthetic rubber
Synthetic rubber

Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially made polymer material, which acts as an elastomer. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more Elasticity deformation under stress, than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation....
 which was cheaper to manufacture.

Chiclets
Chiclets

Chiclets are a brand of candy coated chewing gum made by Cadbury Adams.The colors of the chiclets are: yellow, green, orange, red, white ,and pink....
 are named after chicle.

The name "chicle" comes from the Nahuatl word for the gum, tziktli , which can be translated as "sticky stuff". Alternatively, "chichle" may have come from the Mayan word, "tsicte". 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.

is similar to the tapping of latex
LaTeX

LaTeX is a document markup language and Word processor for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as ....
 from the rubber
Rubber

Natural rubber is an elastomer?an Elasticity_ hydrocarbon polymer?that was originally derived from a milky colloidal suspension, or latex , found in the sap of some plants....
 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
Balatá

Balat? , also known as Ausubo, Massaranduba, or "cow-tree", is a species of Manilkara native to a large area of northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean....
 (Manilkara bidentata) are increasing in use.

Chicle is also a standard word for 'chewing gum' in Spanish.