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Shortly after starting the creamery in 2001, McKnight and Hawley decided they did not want to depend on outside sources for milk. They wanted to know what was in their cheese literally from the ground up.

Holsteins are preferred by dairies because they produce a lot of milk. But the cheesemakers wanted quality milk with a high level of milk solids, which meant Jersey cows. Obviously, it's girls only in this sorority -- male calves are sold for, uh, other uses.

"I enjoy having the cows," McKnight says. "It's not supposed to be that way, but I have 30-some pets. They all have names. It makes me happy to open up the gate and see them go eat grass."

Making fresh mozzarella is similar to working bread dough. There is science involved -- measuring the pH and temperature, for example -- but much of the process requires experience.

As with dough, if you overwork the mozzarella, the texture suffers and it becomes slightly tough. Experienced hands are frugal with their motions. They pull, stretch and fold the thick strands of cheese, about two feet long, as if trying to gently handle a heavy, wet towel. A minimum of motion achieves balls that are as smooth and shiny as balloons, with a light-as-air texture and fresh-cream flavor and that tartness of the spring grass.

"It's a very tricky cheese to make," she says. "There's a tight window of opportunity to get it right."

McKnight says she aims for a ball the size of a summer tomato, because most people use fresh mozzarella for the classic Italian salad of tomatoes, slices of the cheese, shreds of fresh basil and olive oil. I add a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar to my version, because I like the tart-sweet flavor.

The bits left from twisting and folding the ball on the bottom (folds are a sign of a hand-made mozzarella) are tossed into a bin. Combined, the bits will be a little tough in texture, but the extra firmness is perfect for the smoking process. McKnight takes those balls to the Barbecue Joint, where they are cold-smoked for two to three hours. The flavor is great in such things as quesadillas.

As in life, no experience is truly a wasted one. Wonder what summer will taste like?

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