Juicy fruit

[Swampwolf]

I’ve been a big fan of Juicy Fruit gum since I was a wee tyke, but recently a question arose:

What flavour is it?

Any ideas?

[NurseCarmen]

fruit. sheesh.

My favorite Life Saver flavor was red.

When found in nature, licorace must obviously be black.

Well, I guess it’s kind of a Mango.

[El_Elvis_Rojo]

Short lived? I like the flavor of Juicy Fruit, but it never seems to last more than two minutes. As for what flavor exactly? It’s probably just a combination of random artificial fruit flavors, but none specifically. mango sounds pretty close.

[Mangetout]

I thought it wa ‘fruit salad’ flavour; If I had to pick a single fruit that was closest to the taste, I’d probably say guava.

[Joey_P]

I always thought it was just slightly banana flavored.

[astro]

Durian and banana combo.

[Rhythmdvl]

Slightly related column by the Master. The question mentions Juicy Fruit.

[Swampwolf]

Thanks folks…I’m leaning towards peach and banana, but even that doesn’t quite cut it.

Now if only the folks at Wrigley will get back to me…

[cmyk]

Hmmm. I detect a hint of nutmeg. that’s right… NUTMEG. call me crazy.

[Mangetout]

I think if you’re going to say peach and banana, you’ve got to have melon in there too.

[Amfet]

Looked at theWrigley site but they just describe the tase as…well…sweet and juicy. I do not know what flavor manufacturer produces the flavor for juicy fruit and since flavors are typically not patented (they are considered trade secrets) they probably would not be willing to make any information on the formula public. Pretty sure “Juicy Fruit” is a fantasy flavor, which means it does not exist in nature. Most likely it originated as a cocktail of aroma chemicals that that some flavorist thought would make a good flavor for chewing gum and was not modeled after any real fruit mixture. It is certainly possible that the flavor for Juicy Fruit gum contains compounds that are not normally found in natural fruits…so the short and correct answer to your question is, it’s Juicy Fruit flavor!

[Colophon]

Generic “fruit” flavours are very easy to come by - many of them are simple esters of organic acids. I remember from the chemistry lab that they have readily identifiable fruit fragrances, with mixtures of them producing other fruits.

How Stuff Works gives Juicy Fruit as an example of a flavour that has been “made up” using these basic fruit flavours. My guess is that the banana flavour (isoamyl acetate) is a major component.

[Colophon]

And this Googled thread claims to have the answer:

Quoting:
*The four flavors are Lemon, Pineapple, Banana, and Orange.

—cornboy98
End Quote*

Those are correct. (Do you work for Wrigley’s?? )

But do we believe them?

[Swampwolf]

*Originally posted by r_k *
**
But do we believe them? **

Let’s not. I doubt there are any citrus fruits in it, because it doesn’t have the necessary acidic overtones. Pineapple? Perhaps. Banana? Almost definitely.

Oh, and Mangetout, I think you’re most likely right. There’s probably melon in there.

[Swampwolf]

I sit corrected. I just got an email from Wrigley, and the official word is:

This brand is flavored with a combination of natural and artificial flavors, but I’m afraid we can’t be very specific because, for competitive reasons, we consider our Juicy Fruit flavoring formula to be a trade secret.  I can, however, tell you that the mixture of fruit flavors in Juicy Fruit is comprised of predominately lemon, orange, pineapple and banana notes.

Sincerely yours,

WM. WRIGLEY JR. COMPANY

Nancy Slivoski
                                                        Consumer Affairs Coordinator

So there you have it folks, the straight dope.

Oh, and mods? I’m not sure if putting the text of the email on the boards is kosher. If it isn’t, please remove it.

[Colophon]

Wow, straight from the horse’s mouth. Nice work.

[samclem]

Great work.

I wish more posters would tr;y e-mailing companies. I have found that they usually respond rather positively. I get a satisfactory answer more times than not.