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34-417: Wintergreen Gorge was named for the wintergreen plant that was commonly found in the canyon. The gorge is also home to wide swaths of forest, as well as a variety of plant and animal life. A series of trails have been created to allow access to the canyon while promoting sustainable trail practices. Wintergreen Gorge was formed 11,000 years ago by Fourmile Creek eroding the glacial debris left behind from

68-502: A convergent evolution process, as traces of this habit have arisen separately in many early civilizations. Each early precursor to chewing gum was derived from natural growths local to the region and was chewed purely out of the instinctual desire to masticate. Early chewers did not necessarily desire to derive nutritional benefits from their chewable substances but at times sought taste stimuli and teeth cleaning or breath-freshening capabilities. Chewing gum in many forms has existed since

102-480: A compound that is closely related to aspirin . Teaberry extract can be used to flavor tea, candy, medicine and chewing gum . Teaberry is also a regional flavor of ice cream in Pennsylvania . It likewise inspired the name of Clark's Teaberry chewing gum. Wintergreen is not taken in large quantities by any species of wildlife, but the regularity of its use enhances its importance. Its fruit persist through

136-445: A distinct oil of wintergreen scent. The flowers are pendulous , with a white, sometimes pink-tinged, bell-shaped corolla with five teeth at the tip 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long, and above it a white calyx . They are borne in leaf axils , usually one to three per stem. The anthers are forked somewhat like a snake's tongue, with two awns at the tip. The fruit is red and 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) across. It

170-514: A patent for automatically cutting wrappers for sticks of chewing gum: US 913,352 "Web-cutting attachment for wrapping-machines" 23 February 1909 from Louisville, Kentucky, inventor James Henry Brady, an employee of the Colgan Gum Company. Modern chewing gum was first developed in the 1860s when chicle was brought from Mexico by the former president, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna , to New York, where he gave it to Thomas Adams for use as

204-563: A ration and traded it with locals. Synthetic gums were first introduced to the U.S. after chicle no longer satisfied the needs of making good chewing gum. By the 1960s, US manufacturers had switched to butadiene -based synthetic rubber , as it was cheaper to manufacture. In the United States, chewing gum experienced a decline in popularity in the early 21st century, as it lost its association with counterculture and teenage rebelliousness. Others blamed smartphones reducing impulse purchases at

238-497: A rubber substitute. Chicle did not succeed as a replacement for rubber, but as a gum cut into strips and marketed as Adams New York Chewing Gum in 1871. Black Jack (1884), which is flavored with licorice, Chiclets (1899), and Wrigley's Spearmint Gum were early popular gums that quickly dominated the market and are all still around today. Chewing gum gained worldwide popularity through American GIs in WWII, who were supplied chewing gum as

272-508: Is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base , sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers , flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its texture is reminiscent of rubber because of the physical-chemical properties of its polymer, plasticizer, and resin components, which contribute to its elastic-plastic, sticky, chewy characteristics. The cultural tradition of chewing gum seems to have developed through

306-479: Is an epigynous berry , with the majority of the flesh of the fruit being composed of the fleshy calyx. The plant is a calcifuge , favoring acidic soil, in pine or hardwood forests, although it generally produces fruit only in sunnier areas. It often grows as part of the heath complex in an oak–heath forest . G. procumbens spreads by means of long rhizomes , which are within the top 2–3 cm ( 3 ⁄ 4 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) of soil. Because of

340-610: Is considered proprietary information known by select individuals within each gum-manufacturing company. Information about the other components of chewing gum are more accessible to the public and they are listed in Table 2 . Table 2: Common ingredients in the formulation of modern chewing gum Artificial Sweeteners: 0.05–0.5% sugar, dextrose, glucose or corn syrup, erythritol, isomalt, xylitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, lactitol aspartame, acesulfame-K, saccharine, sucralose, neohesperidine, dihydrichalcone Peppermint and spearmint are

374-420: Is not required by law to be labeled with an expiration date. If chewing gum remains in a stable environment, over time the gum may become brittle or lose some of its flavor, but it will never be unsafe to eat. If chewing gum is exposed to moisture, over time water migration may occur, making the gum soggy. In lollipops with a gum center, water migration can lead to the end of the product's shelf life, as it causes

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408-475: Is sometimes mistakenly known as partridge berry, that name more often refers to the ground cover Mitchella repens . The plant has been used by various tribes of Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The Delaware, Mohicans, and several other tribes made a tea from wintergreen leaves to treat kidney disorders. The Great Lakes and Eastern Woodlands tribes used a wintergreen poultice as a topical treatment for arthritic pain. Chewing gum Chewing gum

442-515: The First Americans . Around 1850 a gum made from paraffin wax , a petroleum product, was developed and soon exceeded the spruce gum in popularity. To sweeten these early gums, the chewer would often make use of a plate of powdered sugar, which they would repeatedly dip the gum in to maintain sweetness. William F. Semple, a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio , filed an early patent on chewing gum, patent number 98,304, on 28 December 1869. Semple's gum

476-626: The Fischer–Tropsch process ) Petroleum wax Petroleum wax synthetic Polyethylene Polyisobutylene Polyvinyl acetate Jelutong Leche caspi (sorva) Pendare Perillo Leche de vaca Niger gutta Tunu (tuno) Chilte Natural rubber First, gum base is previously prepared through a melting and straining or filtering process. The formulation for gum base is proprietary information known to few individuals within each gum-producing company. Next, other ingredients such as nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners and flavors are added to

510-554: The Neolithic period. 5,000-year-old chewing gum made from birch bark tar , with tooth imprints, has been found in Kierikki in Finland. The tar from which the gums were made is believed to have antiseptic properties and other medicinal benefits. It is chemically similar to petroleum tar and is in this way different from most other early gum. The Mayans and Aztecs were the first to exploit

544-660: The eastern teaberry , the checkerberry , the boxberry , or the American wintergreen , is a species of Gaultheria native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba , and south to Alabama . It is a member of the Ericaceae (heath family). G. procumbens is a small, low-growing shrub , typically reaching 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tall. The leaves are evergreen , elliptic to ovate, 2–5 cm ( 3 ⁄ 4 –2 in) long and 1–2 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2 – 3 ⁄ 4  in) broad, with

578-428: The last ice age when the glaciers retreated 20,000 years ago and eroding further into shale from the late Devonian period. 42°06′34″N 79°59′15″W  /  42.1095°N 79.9876°W  / 42.1095; -79.9876 This Erie County, Pennsylvania location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Gaultheria procumbens Gaultheria procumbens , also called

612-407: The balsam tree ( Myroxylon ), creating small sticks of flavored chewing gum he named "Taffy Tolu". Colgan also led the way in the manufacturing and packaging of chicle -based chewing gum, derived from Manilkara chicle , a tropical evergreen tree. He licensed a patent for automatically cutting chips of chewing gum from larger sticks: US 966,160 "Chewing Gum Chip Forming Machine" 2 August 1910 and

646-524: The checkout. Demand for chewing gum also declined during the COVID-19 pandemic , as people were less concerned about bad breath and impulse purchases also declined. U.S. sales of gum fell about 30 percent, and while demand was back up to the pre-pandemic level in 2023 in dollar terms, this was the result of inflation as the average price of a pack increased $ 1.01 from 2018 to $ 2.71 in 2023. Globally, sales were down 10 percent from 2018. Gum base composition

680-594: The consumers' intent to form bubbles or the sugar/sugarless dichotomy. Chewing gum typically comes in three formats: tablets, coated pellets, and sticks/ slabs. Bubble gum typically come in three formats as well: tablets, hollow balls, and cubes or chunks. Stick, slab, and tab gums typically come in packs of about five to 17 sticks or more, and their medium size allows for softer texture. Pellet gums, or dragée gums, are pillow shaped pieces that are almost always coated. Packaging of pellet gums can vary from boxes to bottles to blister packs. The coating of pellet gum allows for

714-407: The exterior hard candy shell to soften and the interior gum center to harden. The physical and chemical properties of chewing gum impact all aspects of this product, from manufacturing to sensory perception during mastication. The polymers that make up the main component of chewing gum base are hydrophobic. This property is essential because it allows for retention of physical properties throughout

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748-441: The extruder using a vertical cutter. Sheeting is a technique often used for stick, slab and tab gums. Next, gum is either conditioned by being sprinkled with a powdered polyol or coated via the application of subsequent layers of coating using temperature controlled coating basins before it is sent to packaging. Chewing gum can come in a variety of formats ranging from 1.4 to 6.9 grams per piece, and products can be differentiated by

782-460: The flavors of the Mentha varieties M. piperita (peppermint) and M. spicata (spearmint) even though G. procumbens is not a true mint. The leaves and branches make a fine herbal tea , through normal drying and infusion process. For the leaves to yield significant amounts of their essential oil, they need to be fermented for at least three days. The berries and leaves contain methyl salicylate ,

816-461: The gum base until the warm mixture thickens like dough. The gum base mixture is heated during this mixing process to increase the entropy of the polymers to achieve a more uniform dispersion of ingredients. Then, extrusion technology is implemented to smooth, form, and shape the gum. Next, the gum goes through a shaping process that is determined by gum type and consumer demand. For example, cut and wrap (chunk or cube) pieces are severed straight out of

850-570: The leaves are a minor winter food of the gray squirrel in Virginia. Other common names for G. procumbens include American mountain tea, boxberry, Canada tea, canterberry, checkerberry, chickenberry, creeping wintergreen, deerberry, drunkards, gingerberry, greenberry, ground berry, ground tea, grouseberry, hillberry, mountain tea, one-berry, procalm, red pollom, spice berry, squaw vine, star berry, spiceberry, spicy wintergreen, spring wintergreen, teaberry, wax cluster, and youngsters. While this plant

884-456: The modernization and commercialization of this product mainly took place in the United States. The American Indians chewed resin made from the sap of spruce trees. The New England settlers picked up this practice, and in 1848, John B. Curtis developed and sold the first commercial chewing gum called The State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum. In this way, the industrializing West, having forgotten about tree gums, rediscovered chewing gum through

918-420: The most popular flavors. Food acids are implemented to provide a sour flavor (i.e. citric, tartaric, malic, lactic, adipic, and fumaric acids). Maltitol/Isomalt Mannitol Starch Gum base is made of polymers, plasticizers, and resins. Polymers , including elastomers, are responsible for the stretchy and sticky nature of chewing gum. Plasticizers improve flexibility and reduce brittleness, contributing to

952-455: The natural and synthetic gum base components approved for use in the United States, demonstrating some examples of key gum base components. Table 3: Gum base ingredients approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2016) Chicle Chiquibul Crown gum Gutta hang kang Massaranduba balata Massaranduba chocolate Nispero Rosidinha Venezuelan chicle Isobutylene-isoprene copolymer ( butyl rubber ) Paraffin (via

986-659: The opportunity for multiple flavor sensations, since coating is done in a layering process and different flavor attributes can be added to various layers. Cube or chunk gums, which are typically intended for bubble blowing, are called cut and wrap gums as they are typically severed from continuous strands of extruded gum and packaged directly. Chewing gum is rather shelf stable because of its non-reactive nature and low moisture content. The water activity of chewing gum ranges from 0.40 to 0.65. The moisture content of chewing gum ranges from three to six percent. In fact, chewing gum retains its quality for so long that, in most countries, it

1020-400: The plastic and elastic nature of gum. The interactions of plasticizers within gum base are governed by solubility parameters, molecular weight, and chemical structure. Resins compose the hydrophobic portion of the gum base, responsible for its chewiness. Although the exact ingredients and proportions used in each brand's gum base are trade secrets within the gum industry, Table 3 lists all of

1054-684: The positive properties of gum; they used chicle , a natural tree gum , as a base for making a gum-like substance and to stick objects together in everyday use. Forms of chewing gum were also chewed in Ancient Greece . The Ancient Greeks chewed mastic gum , made from the resin of the mastic tree . Mastic gum, like birch bark tar, has antiseptic properties and is believed to have been used to maintain oral health. Both chicle and mastic are tree resins. Many other cultures have chewed gum-like substances made from plants, grasses, and resins . Although chewing gum can be traced back to civilizations worldwide,

Wintergreen Gorge - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-495: The shallow nature of the rhizomes, it does not survive most forest fires, but a brief or mild fire may leave rhizomes intact, from which the plant can regrow even if the above-ground shrub was consumed. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit . The fruits of G. procumbens, considered its actual "teaberries", are edible, with a taste of mildly sweet wintergreen similar to

1122-423: The winter, and it is one of the few sources of green leaves in winter. White-tailed deer browse wintergreen throughout its range, and in some localities it is an important winter food. Other animals that eat wintergreen are wild turkey , sharp-tailed grouse , northern bobwhite , ring-necked pheasant , black bear , white-footed mouse , and red fox . Wintergreen is a favorite food of the eastern chipmunk , and

1156-431: Was intended to clean the teeth and strengthen the chewer's jaw. It was not a sweet treat; ingredients included chalk and powdered licorice root. Charcoal was also suggested as a "suitable" ingredient in the patent. The first flavored chewing gum was created in the 1860s by John Colgan , a Louisville, Kentucky, pharmacist. Colgan mixed with powdered sugar the aromatic flavoring tolu , a powder obtained from an extract of

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