Harvest sugarcane or sugar beets
Extract the juice from the plant material
Filter the juice to remove solids
Boil the juice to concentrate it
Skim off impurities that rise to the surface
Continue boiling until sugar crystals begin to form
Remove the crystallized sugar
Collect the remaining thick syrup
Boil and reboil the syrup as needed to produce successive grades of molasses
Cool the molasses
Store it in a clean, airtight container