I guess one could say my sweet tooth started at a young age - my first sentence was, “There’s a candy store in downtown Naperville.”  I was destined to find a career in a world where tasting gummies before breakfast and chewing a dozen pieces of gum after lunch was “work”. As an Applications Technologist, I work closely with our team of Flavorists creating fun new concepts for all things confections.

It’s my hope that my blog posts bring exciting, creative, new ideas to your product development.  I will dive into “tastes” from my travels and explore other concepts that can be applied to confectionery products.
Let’s jump right in…

With the holidays rapidly approaching, I look forward the long-standing tradition of Christmas brunch.  The menu does not change drastically from year-to-year: egg soufflé, fruit salad, and korv (a Swedish Christmas sausage) are expected staples.  Also, you’d better believe “fluffy pancakes” (my grandmother’s buttermilk pancake recipe) will be first on the buffet line.  If the family is really lucky, my mom will make homemade cinnamon rolls.  When they are still fresh from the oven, vanilla icing is carefully drizzled over each roll.   A roll (or two) usually go missing before the first family member makes their way through the line.  (If I’m being honest with you, the missing roll is a “quick taste-test” by my grandmother and me.)

We are still quite a way away from “a whole meal in a piece of gum.”  So, for kicks I thought why not try a breakfast flavor instead of the typical mint or fruit?  Pancakes and maple syrup, blueberry muffin, strawberries and crème crepes…How about cinnamon roll gum?  One of our brilliant Flavorists created a profile with balanced bakery/yeasty notes with a hint of vanilla icing and a touch of warming cinnamon that hit the spot.  Now, I can have my Christmas morning cinnamon roll any day!

If you could make any flavor for chewing gum what would it be?  The possibilities are endless…