David: Question: Most woods have a distinctive taste and smell. What sweet-tasting wood is used for popsicle sticks?
(a) Paper birch
(b) Sugar maple
(c) Basswood


Answer: (a) Paper birch

Our domestic hardwoods have many associations with food. The "taste" of sugar maple is most familiar as maple syrup, made from the tree's sap. Basswood was used at one time to make berry boxes. Soft and lightweight, thin basswood boards were scored across the grain, bent into a box shape and tacked to a pine bottom.