Both the flavor and the pink color go back to Walter Diemer, who invented modern bubblegum (there were some prior formulations which didn’t work as well) while working for Fleer in 1928. As an accountant. He was tinkering around attempting to improve the gum on his own time.
Offhand, I can’t find an account which says what he flavored it with, but the flavor was basically created because he liked it. And it was pink because if he didn’t add food coloring, you got ugly gray bubbles. And the food coloring he had on hand was pink.
I will second a request for a cite, but I will say that does sound at least a bit plausible. Artificial banana flavoring has always reminded me a bit of bubblegum, and I could imagine a dose of coriander giving it the right twist.
Where is the best place to find bubblegum flavoured bubblegum? Bazooka has the bubblegum taste but is often hard to find and stale when I do see it. Bubble Yum doesn’t really have the right flavour, or it is too weak.
Yeah, I’ve always assumed a health dose of banana/estery flavors. Banana, pineapple. hint of clove–that general range (homebrewers will know what I’m talking about.) I’d be surprised if it were as simple as 1/5 coriander, 4/5 banana, though.
I both remember Big Red from childhood, and have about 6 2-litre bottles of the stuff.
I t does NOT taste like bubblegum. but if you try Red Vines (NOT the CRAP by Twizzler) by American Liquorice, you will notice a similarity.
Not that I’m directly disputing Wikipedia, but that doesn’t stand up to a sniff test. Bubblegum and bubblegum flavor almost certainly long predates synthetic chicle, and there’s no need for anything special for people to chew natural chicle, so why would they add stuff like fruit extracts and isoamyl acetate (banana flavor ester, FYI) if not to flavor it?
Also… to whoever said that there’s a “bite” from salicylic acid, they’re most likely meaning methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen). And I’ve noticed that too in some varieties of bubble gum, but not all. I suspect that “bubble gum flavor” is one of those things that’s like saying “cola” or “beer”, where there’s a sort of general flavor but a lot of variation and riffs upon a theme.
Here’s one:
3 parts banana flavor 3 parts pineapple flavor 2 parts wintergreen, 1 part cinnamon and 1 part clove.
There is a hardware store here - yes, a real hardware store - which likes to stock old-fashioned sodas in glass bottles next to the real popcorn maker.
Among the sodas is Big Red.
Then Wal-Mart moved in across the street and sells it in 12 oz cans and 2 liter plastic.
So - if you don’t have a funky old hardware store, check your Wal-Mart.
Note: the difference between “regular” and “diet” is especially nasty in Big Red.