Chicle

Chicle

Taxobox
name = Chicle


image_caption = "Manilkara chicle"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Ericales
familia = Sapotaceae
genus = "Manilkara"
species = "M. chicle"
binomial = "Manilkara chicle"
binomial_authority = (Pittier) Gilly

Chicle is the natural gum from "Manilkara chicle", which is a tropical evergreen tree native to Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia. [ [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?428790 Manilkara chicle information from NPGS/GRIN ] ] It was traditionally used in chewing gum. 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 which was cheaper to manufacture.

Chiclets are named after chicle.

The name "chicle" comes from the Nahuatl word for the gum, "tziktli" IPA| ['ʦikt͡ɬi] , which can be translated as "sticky stuff". Alternatively, "chichle" may have come from the Mayan word, "tsicte". [ [http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=art&id=168 Mexicolore article on chicle] ] 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".

The tapping of the gum is similar to the tapping of latex from the rubber 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 ("Manilkara bidentata") are increasing in use.

Chicle is also a standard word for 'chewing gum' in Spanish. In Portuguese 'chiclete' may be used for a person who is known as a 'pest' or someone who will not leave another person alone.

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • chiclé — [ (t)ʃikle ] n. m. • 1922; esp. chicle, du nahuatl tzictli ♦ Latex qui découle notamment du sapotillier. Le chiclé est utilisé dans la préparation des chewing gums. ● chicle nom masculin (espagnol chicle, de l aztèque chictli) Latex du… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Chiclé — Chicle Le chicle (du nahuatl tzictli, gomme) est une gomme qui provient du latex blanc du sapotillier Achras zapota P.Ivanoff, d origine d Amérique centrale et du sud. C est la matière utilisée traditionnellement dans le chewing gum. L arbre est… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chicle — Chic le, n., Chicle gum Chicle gum [Amer. Sp. chicle.] A gumlike substance obtained from the bully tree ({Mimusops globosa}) and sometimes also from the naseberry or sapodilla ({Sapota zapotilla}). It is more plastic than caoutchouc and more… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Chicle — ist ein milchigweißer Saft, der aus dem Breiapfelbaum gewonnen wird. Es handelt sich dabei um einen Kaugummirohstoff, der schon 2000 Jahre vor unserer Zeitrechnung von den Maya genutzt wurde. Man wusste von der beruhigenden Wirkung des stetigen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • chicle — chicle, pasar el chicle expr. besar. ❙ «Pasarle el chicle: comerle los morros.» R. Gómez de Parada, La universidad me mata …   Diccionario del Argot "El Sohez"

  • chicle — 1889, Amer.Eng. (in chicle gum), from Mexican Sp. chicle, from Nahuatl (Aztec) tzictli …   Etymology dictionary

  • chicle — ‘Pastilla masticable que no se traga’: «¿Vende acaso dulces, [...] chicles o helados?» (Parra Obscenidad [Chile 1984]). Esta forma llana (pron. [chíkle]) es la usada mayoritariamente en todo el ámbito hispánico. Se desaconsejan otras variantes… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • chicle — sustantivo masculino 1. Goma de mascar aromatizada: Ahora le gusta mascar chicle sin azúcar …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

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  • chiclé — sustantivo masculino 1. Área: mecánica Pieza que en algunos motores regula el paso de los fluidos, como el de la gasolina al carburador …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

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