My take on sweeteners is that we should use them sparingly, and the most natural ones take preference over the refined sorts. I long ago swore off soft drinks, although I do think longingly of a cold Coke on a hot day—and occasionally indulge. I’ve found that a container of unsweetened tea brewed from green tea and mint tea in the fridge is completely thirst quenching after work in the garden, or to sip while working or relaxing.
 
Here are the eight kinds of organic sweeteners, a list of their benefits, and suggestions for how I use them.

Honey. Since it’s the product of bees, honey is a natural substance, if not organic. Look for raw, unprocessed honey, which will contain all the enzymes, pollen, and other nutrients that the bees gave it. As a liquid, honey dissolves more readily in cold drinks than granulated sugar. Some people mix honey, lemon juice, and cider vinegar in water as a cold remedy. In baking, honey adds its flavor to breads, cakes, and pastries and keeps them moist. Figure that honey has about 35 percent more sweetening power than an equivalent quantity of granulated sugar.
 
Maple Syrup. This is our regular sweetener. I use it in my morning coffee, on breakfast cereals, on pan-cakes, French toast, and waffles, and anywhere the sweetener doesn’t have to be in hard, crystal form. Some people prefer Grade B because it is the darkest and most strongly maple-flavored. We prefer the lighter Grade A Medium or Grade A Fancy because we don’t want every-thing tasting like maple. About 250 years ago when sugar from the Caribbean was a scarce commodity in New England and maple syrup was the sweetener of necessity, the lighter grades were most prized for the same reason.
 
Molasses. This sweetner is what’s left over from sugar cane juice when the white sugar is refined out. It’s high in iron and other minerals. Organic molasses will have been produced without the use of chemicals and will be unsulphured.