Brenda Zimmerman, age 8, of Akron, Pa., for her question:

WHERE DOES MOLASSES COME FROM?

The thick, sweet, sticky syrup called molasses is used for cooking, candy making and as a livestock feed. It is obtained as a byproduct in the manufacture of sugar from sugar cane. Countries that grow sugar cane also produce most of the world's molasses. Center of production in the United States is Louisiana.

Either an open kettle or a vacuum pan method is used to produce molasses from sugar crystals as cane juice is changed to sugar.

Boiling of molasses produces varying grades. Molasses left after several boilings i's called blackstrap and it is used mainly to feed farm animals, for fertilizer and to distill rum or alcohol. Almost 70 percent of molasses is carbohydrates, 25 percent is water with 2 percent protein and about 3 percent ash or mineral.