Q&A for How to Make Chewing Gum

It is harder than regular chewing gum, but softens as you chew it.

The reason you add powdered sugar is not only to give it a sweet taste, but because otherwise it would just be runny mixture, not dough. You cannot substitute with more honey. I suppose you could replace with ground rice flour or oat flour, but it might not be the same texture.

Be careful because many modern industrial products are called mastic. In the case of the non-toxic plant resin, it may be used to make chewing gum, however its properties do not allow it to be a substitute for gum in the same recipes, as it resembles more of a wax or gelatin. It can be used, but you'll need to change the recipe accordingly.

You aren't supposed to be eating the resin, just chewing it. It's kind of like chewing on your sleeve. You shouldn't eat it, but you can safely chew on it.

With a "gum base," which is generally based upon synthetic plastic. To the synthetics, they add flavoring and a sweetener.

Gum comes from many ingredients, such as glycerine. However you need to use beeswax to really get that chewiness.

Natural beeswax can be sold in natural food stores or maybe in the organic/natural aisle at your local grocery store.

Cut a hole into the bark, and sap should flow out. Not a lot, but it will accumulate over time.

Use Method 2 or 3. These both are ways to make gum without gum base. Though, I do think beeswax gum would be easiest, because it doesn't require going out to find a particular tree. Beeswax is easy to find, and a gum tree is fairly hard to find. If you are going for a more natural gum, use Method 3. To get more natural gum without having to go out to a gum tree every time, you could collect some of the tree's sap and bring it home to divide and maybe put in wrappers. That way, you'll have gum whenever you want to chew it.

If you mean a bland sugar-free, you can use the regular beeswax - it has a low sugar content. You might try cassava flour as a thickener instead of sugar. Although this option wouldn't taste as sweet, you could try to find powdered stevia.

This can depend on environmental conditions, but not very long, because it is made of natural ingredients.

The beeswax recipe makes about 24-28 pieces. It kind of depends on how big you make your pieces.

Yes, as long as it is hardened and not runny. I recommend using waxed paper as a wrap, because then it is easier to remove the gum.

At a candy making store they should have a traditional bubblegum flavor. However, if there is not a store like this near you, you can order it online (Amazon has some nice options). It is not too hard to find.

It can be found at candy stores or online.

Yes, you do.

As long as you have the ingredients for the gum, you should be able to do that.

Click the first link in the citations and scroll down to the comments. There should be a comment with a link about that.

No, you must use gum base. If you use gelatin powder, you cannot chew it.

Powered sugar is what thickens the mixture. Try adding more of that. If you don't want to add more sugar, you can try cassava flour instead.

Yes. Beeswax is a natural substance and should break down easily. The same goes for honey, and the flavoring should be absorbed by one of the first 2 things.

You can find it in a hobby or crafts shop, some superstores, or you can order online.

Coat the pan in olive oil before you boil the gum. The olive oil will make the pan greasy so the gum can easily slip off.

You shouldn't swallow any kind of gum, because your stomach is not able to break down the gum base. However, the beeswax gum is fine because it is natural, and acids can break it down.

No. Even if you swallow a piece of gum, it won't hurt you. You'll just eliminate it as undigested waste.