There is a "flavor of bubble gum", not only for bubble gum, but also for kids toothpaste and milkshakes.

  • Is it possible to reproduce this taste in the kitchen?
  • What ingredients are required?
  • Are they available to consumers or are they 'commercial chemicals'?
  • I am tempted to close this question as "not clear what you are asking". What is your personal definition of "artificial chemicals"? – rumtscho Dec 12 '13 at 14:10
  • I'll ask in other words: is it possible to reproduce this taste in the kitchen? – Sergey Kirienko Dec 12 '13 at 14:18
  • @SergeyKirienko, welcome to "Seasoned Advice". Rather than injecting a comment you have the opportunity to "edit" your original question. (or members of the community may 'edit it for you') – Cos Callis Dec 12 '13 at 14:23
  • Thank you for the additional info @Sergey and for the edit @Cos; I reversed my downvote. – rumtscho Dec 12 '13 at 14:41
  • In the US, bubblegum flavor is also commonly called tutti frutti. A search for this term will give you many recipes. – Sobachatina Dec 12 '13 at 20:06

Amazon offers several "Bubble Gum Flavoring" or "Bubble Gum Extracts" in both "Natural" and "Artificial" varieties. While the manufactures don't list specific ingredients this is one recipe:

Here is my basic bubble gum recipe based on "10 parts..." the key is really in the wintergreen, cinnamon and clove. Fruits can vary a bit-but you will find this to be the "ticket."

3 parts banana flavor 3 parts pineapple flavor 2 parts wintergreen, 1 part cinnamon and 1 part clove.

As I said Bubble Gum flavor is complex and not just one or two notes. The oldest formula included a fruit like "king fruit" or "passion fruit" but I find most any tropical flavor will pull through.

Whether you (or various manufacturers) choose to use "natural" or "artificial" versions of these flavoring is an individual choice, but it is clearly not limited to "Just artificial chemicals".

Beware that wintergreen oil is quite poisonous: as little as a teaspoon can be fatal. The Drugs.com page on it contains the following: "The highest amount of methyl salicylate typically used in candy flavouring is 0.04%." "Because of this toxicity, official labelling requirements have been changed so that no drug product may contain more than 5% methyl salicylate."

  • This is slightly offtopic, but is wintergreen replaceable with anything? – JoséNunoFerreira Dec 12 '13 at 16:21
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    Peppermint or Spearmint would provide a similar flavor profile. – Cos Callis Dec 12 '13 at 17:06
  • @CosCallis: I would say if you substitute spearmint for wintergreen you might get something which tastes equally good (or better, even) but I would guess you won't get anything too "bubble-gummy". – Max Jun 25 '15 at 7:35
  • There is a plant called Lippia Polystachia which has that kind of flavor, commonly sold at garden centres. Looks and handles similar to a lemon verbena. – rackandboneman Nov 6 '15 at 21:44

From my perspective, the closest flavor to wintergreen is root beer. I don't think spearmint or peppermint taste anything like wintergreen.

I found this thread because I just ate a candy called "circus peanuts" which I never knew anyone to like them. It tasted like a bad peace of classic bubblegum. I can distinguish the banana flavor mixed with something like wintergreen. At least that's my impression. I will have to try a piece of bubblicious bubble yum some time and see how similar its flavoring profile is. That is the classic bubblegum flavor I grew up with. bazooka Joe was around too when I was too young to chew gum, but bubblicious really was the most popular when I was a kid.

  • Seems like a good answer to me. – Fattie Jul 8 '19 at 13:25

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