# What does bubble gum taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643 "2003-03-27T23:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/1 "2003-03-27T23:35:38Z")
No, really. I bought a ten-pack of Bazooka on a whim (the pieces are a little smaller and don’t have those two grooves in them anymore, and the pieces are wrapped in the comics themselves), and I’m wondering what, exactly, makes bubble gum taste like bubble gum? I mean, it tastes sweet, and pink, and, and, like bubble gum, dammit! Do I detect a hint of banana? In Dubble Bubble, there’s a evanesence (sp) of wintergreen, I think. That’s it, though. What do you think, dopers, hey? ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/2 "2003-03-27T23:40:29Z")
Much like the “grape” flavoring in “grape” flavored products such as soda, I think the taste of bubblegum is its very own creature. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/3 "2003-03-27T23:41:14Z")
[Cecil says:](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/980327.html) > [@](#): > > We put this to a flavor expert at Topps and got this reply: “It’s lot of things. It’s hard to explain. It’s fruity, orange-ish, with butterscotch notes.” We were taken with the notion of detecting butterscotch notes in bubble gum and had a fleeting vision of Topps taste testers sampling the latest batch: “It’s a naive domestic chew, but I think you’ll be amused by its presumption.” The point is, bubble gum tastes like nothing in nature because it’s a mixture of things. Let’s call it bubble gum flavor and let it go at that. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/4 "2003-03-27T23:45:09Z")
Reminds me of a cartoon I saw once, having a lend of wine snobs, something along the lines of: “Mmmmm! Plummy on the mid-palate, with moderately high tannins, fruit salad aftertaste, peppery bouquet, caramel mouth feel, and… and… just the faintest hint of WINE!” ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/5 "2003-03-27T23:54:17Z")
All I know about bubblegum flavor is that I am so well-indoctrinated into the “don’t swallow your gum” rule that I can’t even swallow bubblegum-flavored things like bubblegum ice cream or bubblegum cough syrup. I get 'em into my mouth, and I just chew. It’s sad, really. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/6 "2003-03-28T02:19:56Z")
Far be it from me to disagree with Cecil, but to me it tastes like a weird artificial banana flavor. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/7 "2003-03-28T07:33:44Z")
FWIW, I’ve bartended before and one drink I made from time to time was called a “Bazooka Joe.” Ingredients were one part each: **banana liqueur** , **blue curacao** (which has an orange flavor), and **Bailey’s Irish Cream**. And it tastes _exactly_ like Bazooka Joe bubblegum. So I put in a vote for banana and orange essences being what gives it the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/8 "2003-03-28T17:53:14Z")
I shoulda known that the Exalted One would have answered this already. Now that we’ve covered Bazooka and its ilk, what about Dubble Bubble? Doesn’t really taste much like Bazooka, but definitely tastes like bubble gum… ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/9 "2003-03-28T18:05:52Z")
Please forgive a slight hijack: It tastes like kids’ toothpaste! Of course my kid is confused. I don’t let him have bubble gum, saying it’s bad for his teeth. The same day I tell him he must brush his teeth to take care of them. Here son, use this. Tastes just like Bubblegum! It might have something to do with whatever makes it pink. I asked at a cotton candy stand once what was in it. I was greeted with two very blank looks. “Uh, sugar.” Then we all looked at the carton of stuff. Sugar,artificial flavors and coloring were all that were listed. I’ve never equated the taste with any actual fruit. A drink that tasted like bubble gum might short circuit my brain. I also haven’t chewed a piece of real bubble gum in about 20 years. I’m feeling an experiment coming on. . . ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/10 "2003-03-28T18:31:11Z")
Do us a favor and go for a taste test of Bazooka and Dubble Bubble, please, gwendee. And report back. This is important stuff! Vital to this country’s security! ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/11 "2003-03-29T03:20:38Z")
I always thought it had a minty taste to it, but more wintergreen than spearmint. I can also taste the banana, not so much the orange, but I do want to try this drink made by **peepthis** now to see how much it tastes like Bazooka. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-bubble-gum-taste-like/164643/12 "2003-03-29T03:32:05Z")
Isn’t it wintergreen? I thought the bubblegum flavour was wintergreen. Isn’t it? I coulda sworn it was. Maybe?