Forget cane sugar. Why not sate your sweet tooth with maple syrup? Nutritious minerals provide its color and flavor, and the gooey golden stuff has a lower glycemic index than refined sweeteners. Indigenous foragers in New England and Quebec figured out that there are a few weeks each spring when maple trees' sap can be extracted, to be boiled down to syrup, but unlike most sugar cultivation, maple farming doesn't require pesticides or herbicides. Plus, maple trees fare best in diverse forests, meaning that the fast-growing US maple industry—valued at $142 million in 2018—supports the preservation of carbon-storing forestland. Here are seven maple-powered items that prove trees give us all a pretty sweet deal.

According to the wife-and-husband team behind Vermont's RUNAMOK MAPLE, maple marries well. Throughout sugaring season, they taste their syrup until it's ready to be barreled with bourbon, smoked with pecan wood, or infused with chili pepper, coffee, or (our favorite) cinnamon and vanilla. About $17 for a 250 ml bottle, runamokmaple.com

Microwave popcorn can be a chemical- and plastic-coated indulgence. Enter QUINN SNACKS' Maple Kettle Corn, an organic "farm-to-bag" treat. After popping the non-GMO kernels, mix in the sunflower oil, maple sugar, and sea salt. Shake it up to find out just how well this snack strikes a sweet-savory balance. About $6 for a pack of two, quinnsnacks.com

COOMBS FAMILY FARMS makes a range of organic syrups and sugars sourced from New England producers committed to sustainable forestry. Created by boiling syrup to crystallization, its Organic Maple Sugar imbues baked goods, coffee, and tea with a nice, subtle sweetness. $28 for 1 lb, 9 oz; coombsfamilyfarms.com

KING'S ROW COFFEE's canned Maple Water Cold Brew is charged with nitrogen, crafted with small-batch arabica coffee beans, and steeped in cold maple water. Maple trees' antioxidant- and polyphenol-rich water lends this portable wake-up drink a distinct, just slightly sweet flavor and aroma. $27 for a six-pack, kingsrowcoffee.com

Before being boiled into a thick, golden-gooey waffle topping, the liquid within maple trees is a thin, clear sap rife with antioxidants, polyphenols, and electrolytes, and containing just a bit of sugar. (It takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup.) Athletes are increasingly shirking traditional sports drinks in favor of single-ingredient, naturally organic maple water. Even sweeter, DRINK SIMPLE Maple Water is packaged in recyclable cartons made from the pulp of Forest Stewardship Council—certified trees. $25 for a pack of four 32 oz cartons, drinksimple.com

Endurance athletes often rely on energy gels to sustain themselves over the long haul. Hungry for sporty sustenance that wasn't chemically sweetened, flavored, or supplemented, pro cyclist Ted King sought a natural energy source with a few key ingredients—amino acids (which help prevent muscle deterioration); minerals like calcium, zinc, and potassium (which promote muscle recovery and prevent cramping); and low-glycemic sugar (for prolonged rather than burst-and-crash energy)—and landed on what else but maple syrup. Easy to digest and quick to absorb, it's the sole ingredient in UNTAPPED's Pure Vermont Maple Syrup 100-calorie slurpable packets. UnTapped also formulates a variety of coffee-infused maple syrups and maple waffles for outdoor warriors. $11 for five packets, untapped.cc

Rockland, Maine's BIXBY & CO. is the state's first bean-to-bar chocolatier. The company is committed to ethical trade and the responsible sourcing of organic cacao beans. It crafts its best-selling Maine Maple Bonbons with creamy organic milk and dark chocolate, local golden maple syrup, and vanilla ganache. They're free of GMOs and gluten and make for a delectable gift. $16 for a box of six, bixbyco.com

This article appeared in the September/October 2019 edition with the headline "Maple Staples."