gums confections of fruit or other flavourings such as liquorice, mixed with sugar syrup, set with gum arabic. Better-quality versions still use this, but gelatin is now mixed with the gum in some formulae, giving a cheaper product. Modified starches are also used in these sweets. Gums are dried out after manufacture to a much lower moisture content than jellies (which in principle are similar confections), and thus have a chewy, tough, texture. Wine gums, midget gems, and fruit gums are popular 20th-century representatives of this group in Britain.
