Making Cheese?

I actually did it. Made mozzarella in my kitchen.
When I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by B. Kingsolver, I was intrigued by the act of making cheese in her kitchen. I went to the website www.cheesemaking.com which is the home of the New England Cheesemaking Company and ordered a mozzarella kit. It was simple enough - citrus acid and rennet tablets along with a dairy thermometer. All I needed was a gallon of whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized) and some non-chlorinated water. A half hour later i had cheese!
My husband asked me why I would want to make my own cheese. I mean, it's in the store right? Wasn't it a lot of trouble for a little over a half pound of funny looking mozzarella balls? I smiled and said - well, the market's full of jam too, but you like the homemade stuff better, true? It's kind of the same thing. I know exactly what went into those slices of mozzarella that I served tonight with fresh basil and tomatoes (with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil sprinkled on top). I ate some of the cheese while it was still warm. It is like a loaf of bread right out of the oven. There is something simple and delicious about the act of creating something from scratch that makes the act of eating conscious and special.
And yes, it was kind of strange watching the curds separate from the whey with just the addition of an enzyme that once was only found in cows stomachs (now it is man made). It is odd cutting through the curds and then kneading them like dough. Then it stretches like taffy and gets shining and you know you are done.
The kit came with enough rennet and citrus acid to makes pounds of mozzarella and I look forward to doing this again. I'll play with different kinds of milk and won't it be divine when I can serve it with my own tomatoes and basil from the summer garden?