Here's something creamy, delicious and good for you

I’ve been rushing the season lately, raking out beds and tilling soil, only to have them covered by sleet one more time. I haven’t been able to do blender breakfasts with frozen fruit yet (still too chilly). But I have been making big batches of yogurt.

I use the raw milk at Stonewall Dairy in Cornwall. The "girls" are just coming out of their slow season, so I’ve been buying some from the farm and some from their vendors (LaBonne’s carries a nice stash each week) to keep the balance. Somehow, knowing they’re healthy makes me want to consume their bounty in as many ways as possible.

Not only is yogurt easy to enjoy (as shakes or on its own with fruit, nuts and maple syrup) and nutritious (full of protein, calcium and good bacteria). It’s also believed to add years to your life — an inference made from the life spans of men and women in some countries where yogurt and other fermented dairy products (like kefir, which is a liquid form of yogurt) are a dietary staple.

Yogurt is a fermented dairy product made by adding bacterial cultures to milk, which causes the transformation of the milk’s sugar (lactose) into lactic acid (which makes it easier to digest so even those who are lactose intolerant can enjoy it). This process gives yogurt its refreshingly tart flavor and unique pudding-like texture, a quality that is reflected in its original Turkish name, Yoghurmak, which means "to thicken."

Yogurt that contains live bacterial cultures may help you to live longer, and may fortify your immune system. Eating yogurt may also help to prevent vaginal yeast infections (it definitely can counteract the impact on your body of antibiotics — which can cause those infections). Check askdrsears.com for the many health reasons to eat yogurt.

Here’s my recipe that is a bit of a science project, but it turns out a sublime big batch each time.

Homemade yogurt

Heat 1 gallon of raw Stonewall Dairy milk in a pot on the stove over medium heat until a candy thermometer shows 165 degrees (I hang one of the side of the pot into the liquid as it’s heating up, but you can do spot checks by dipping in, if you prefer).

Try not to let it boil because that will kill a lot of the good cultures.

Turn the heat off and pour the hot milk into a big Pyrex or stainless steel bowl. Let it cool to 110 degrees.

Stir in the starter (I use a big tub of FAGE Greek yogurt — it’s like making a gallon of the stuff). Don’t stir the starter in when the milk is hotter than 110, or the culture will die and the mixture won’t thicken. I use a big whisk to slowly stir in the starter so there are no clumps.

Return the mixture to the oven at 110 (the lowest my oven goes to is 170, so I ride the preheat, turning it on and off for a few hours — which is a bit labor intensive) and let it set for seven hours or so. You can smell it happening. I tend to leave it in the oven (not turned on) overnight so the residual heat can sit inside. If your oven goes to 110, or if you have a crock pot that can be set at 110, you can let it go, for a less demanding experience.

When it’s done it will be almost the firmness of the consistency of the starter. And the top layer, which is a bit stiffer, is buttery, creamy — nothing finer.