For many people, the flavour of bubble gum is the flavour of childhood. After all, it’s the style of bubbles: tried, profitable, and snapped over noses. Nevertheless it’s additionally the flavour of jelly beans, ice cream, slushies, and in addition medication (which a few of us used to sneak out of the fridge even once we weren’t sick). However whereas Skittles, Starburst, and Laffy Taffy all imitate the flavour of actual fruits, there’s no bubble gum berry rising in our gardens. So what is bubble gum taste?
In a latest listener-inspired episode of Gastropod, hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley got down to reply this query, together with some others submitted by their followers, together with whether or not meal kits dwell as much as their environmental claims and if all rooibos tea actually comes from one mountain vary in South Africa. Take heed to the complete episode for the solutions to all of those fascinating questions — and browse on for an edited excerpt from the episode by which Cynthia and Nicky chat with bubble gum scientist Gwendolyn Graff to unravel bubble gum’s many mysteries.
GASTROPOD LISTENER VALARIE: What the heck is bubble gum taste? When did this change into the flavour of bubble gum? Are there commonplace bubble gum flavors in every single place and are they the identical? Has it all the time been like this? It’s change into a bizarre fixation.
CYNTHIA GRABER: Let’s begin with the primary query: What the heck is it? Why can I think about what it tastes like once I chew down, however I can’t precisely describe it?
GWENDOLYN GRAFF: I might say that’s as a result of bubble gum is what we’d name a fantasy taste. You’re not going to have the ability to decide a bubble gum off of a tree. It’s undoubtedly made up.
NICOLA TWILLEY: That is Gwendolyn Graff, and he or she is a real-life bubble gum scientist who works in bubble gum R&D. Sure, children, that may be a job you possibly can have if you develop up.
GRABER: Fantasy taste can also be an actual factor. For example, you possibly can’t discover blue raspberries on the planet, however blue raspberry taste is in Jolly Rancher candies, and popsicles…
TWILLEY: However although bubble gum is a fantasy taste, it’s primarily based on actual flavors.
GRAFF: I might more than likely describe it as orange plus cherry. For those who obtained two Jelly Bellies and you set an orange and a cherry collectively, you’ll combine them collectively and you’ll say it”s bubble gum taste.
GRABER: Thriller solved! It’s like math: cherry plus orange plus a variety of sweetener equals — bubble gum! However, given it’s a fantasy taste, as soon as upon a time it didn’t exist. So who’s the Einstein who got here up with this new common equation?
TWILLEY: To reply that, we have to return to the invention of bubble gum itself, which is a narrative we advised in our chewing gum episode a few years in the past. Bubble gum was invented in 1928 by a man known as Walter Deemer who, consider it or not, was an accountant. He labored at this chewing gum firm, and developing with a gum that was extra elastic and fewer sticky, so you possibly can blow a bubble — that was his aspect hustle.
GRAFF: However truly the primary time he made bubble gum, he truly made it a mint taste. He put in some mint oils, as a result of on the time that’s what they did with gum.
GRABER: It caught on, and blowing bubbles rapidly grew to become well-liked with children, however the mint taste wasn’t a giant hit. Gwendolyn advised us no person is aware of precisely when somebody on the firm combined some fruit flavors collectively for his or her new bubble-y gum.
GRAFF: I’m assuming simply because it grew to become related to a child’s product, they began going in the direction of the fruit flavors. As a result of if you take a look at gum as an entire, mints are usually within the grownup flavors and child flavors are usually within the fruits. You’ll be able to see exceptions to these, however that’s largely the way it goes.
TWILLEY: Nevertheless they landed on this candy orange and cherry combine, it grew to become the usual bubble gum taste.
GRABER: And, as time went on, individuals began utilizing bubble gum flavoring for issues that aren’t bubble gum.
TWILLEY: I actually noticed bubble gum taste soda on the shelf at a grocery store final week. And I didn’t really feel even remotely tempted to strive it. However I’m clearly not the goal market.
GRAFF: I’ve seen a lot of issues. I imply, a lot of candies and lollipops and stuff that’s within the confectionary market. However even, I keep in mind one yr, I feel 7-11 did a bubble gum flavored slushie. You get drinks, and clearly ice cream.
TWILLEY: And, for grownups who nonetheless love child flavors, you will get bubble gum vitality drinks and bubble gum vodka.
GRABER: I’m additionally not the audience for this, I feel it sounds fairly gross. And one other factor that at the very least our listener Valarie’s son thinks is disgusting is bubble gum-flavored medication.
VALARIE: They’ll add it as a taste to assist it go down extra simply. Nevertheless it’s horrible. It makes it even worse. And so now, something bubble gum taste is disgusting to him. He thinks I’m attempting to drug him each time I give him a Jelly Stomach that’s bubble gum taste.
TWILLEY: Clearly a spoonful of bubble gum doesn’t essentially assist the medication go down. However Valarie needed to know: Are all bubble gum flavors the identical?
GRABER: Gwendolyn advised us even inside the world of bubble gum taste there are nuances — shades of pink, let’s say.
GRAFF: After I was a child we had Bazooka. And that one has a slight little mint in it, like a slight little little bit of wintergreen in it. So it might type of fluctuate.
GRABER: However even when these flavors fluctuate barely from model to model, they’re nonetheless recognizable as bubble gum, they usually’re nonetheless well-liked right now.
GRAFF: I’d say that if you happen to’re strictly speaking about bubble gum, bubble gum might be the most important bubble gum taste.
TWILLEY: However not all gum that you may blow bubbles with is bubble gum taste, if that is smart. Bubble gum is available in loads of different flavors.
GRAFF: Often the primary fruit that’s the commonest is strawberry. After which it tends to type of shuttle between grape and watermelon because the second and third.
GRABER: Gwendolyn advised us that different international locations have well-liked flavors which might be just a little uncommon to us right here within the US.
GRAFF: I occur to be within the U.Ok. proper now, and their actually well-liked taste is black currant.
TWILLEY: It’s certainly, we love black currant the whole lot. Our purple Skittles and different sweets are all black currant flavored, not grape. However Gwendolyn thinks it tastes just a little bit like soiled socks.
GRAFF: And so it’s humorous, as a result of as a developer within the States, you’re like, ugh! I’m probably not a fan of this taste. However you simply need to get acquainted with what it ought to style like, after which just be sure you’re replicating it.
GRABER: We have been questioning if Gwendolyn might replicate any taste in bubble gum type, and Gwendolyn stated truly, yeah.
TWILLEY: Her personal profession is testomony to that. She has provide you with a variety of new bubble gum flavors in her time.
GRAFF: If I needed to provide you with a quantity, it might be within the lots of. Undoubtedly.
GRABER: A few of these flavors have been seasonal ones.
GRAFF: We had summer time frenzy flavors the place we’d put new flavors out. We did like a brand new product each couple weeks as a result of children similar to to strive new issues, new issues, new issues.
TWILLEY: These have been restricted time specials like pink lemonade and “triple play” tropical. To date, so comparatively regular. However within the security of the R&D lab, Gwendolyn and her colleagues obtained as much as some actual Willy Wonka stuff.
GRAFF: I’ve tried a lot of issues. We’ve tried drink flavors, we’ve tried herb flavors, we’ve tried vegetable flavors, we’ve tried meat flavors, we’ve tried pizza flavors, we’ve tried cheese flavors. There have been some humorous ones, like — someone was like, can we do a beef jerky? Oh my goodness. Have you learnt how bizarre a beef jerky gum is? You retain eager to swallow it. It’s so bizarre. It did style like beef jerky, nevertheless it type of simply messed together with your thoughts. And there are some flavors which have been fairly horrible: like mayonnaise taste, liquid-filled mayonnaise taste.
GRABER: I’m going to stay with the traditional, myself.
