There have been many commercials lately about the health benefits of yogurt. And I agree that it is very healthy for several different digestive ailments.

In addition to protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals, yogurt contains probiotics. Probiotics are the good bacteria that inhabit our guts. They aid our digestion and increase our immune systems. However, since this is a food article, that’s as far as I am going with that subject!

I love yogurt. There are so many flavors out now – Boston cream pie and key lime pie, to name a couple – you can eat it as a desert. But my favorite is still the ones with the fruit on the bottom.

One of my darling little granddaughters loves yogurt. She eats it every day. In an attempt to cut food bills for her mom, I found a recipe to make her own yogurt. I went through many, and made many, but found that this week’s recipe is about the easiest and most-fail proof. Short of throwing a raw piece of chicken in your batch, it is hard to mess up yogurt.

Before getting to the recipe, I do want to give you a few pointers on issues I have read that other people have encountered.

• If you are a fan of organic products, homemade yogurt works great with organic milk.
• If you use regular whole milk, bring it to a slow boil on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Regular milk could contain residual antibiotics. Heating denatures them. If you do not boil the milk first and antibiotics are present, the yogurt will not set up properly.
• If your yogurt is a bit runny, there are several ways to thicken it. One way would be to strain it. If you use cheesecloth, it will resemble Greek-style yogurts. You can also use a teaspoon or two of gelatin to help thicken it.
• The amount of milk you use is how much yogurt you will make (1/2 gal milk = 1/2 gal yogurt). You can use regular, reduced- or non-fat milk.
• If you want to flavor the yogurt, add a small amount of the extract to the pot when you add the culture.
• For your first batch, you will need to purchase plain yogurt with active cultures. Read the packaging, which will state if it contains live or active cultures. Once you have made your own, you can reserve some of it as your starter.
• All equipment should be cleaned or sterilized. Running everything through a dishwasher and drying with the hot heat should do the trick.
• I recommend making your yogurt on a weekend when you are home to monitor the process.

You can add fruit of just about any kind. One of my favorites is with a drizzle of honey, blueberries and a sprinkle of nuts, or granola.

If you like experimenting, this is a fun recipe to play with. You probably won’t fail, so you don’t have to worry about wasting anything. Have fun!

Plain Crock Pot Yogurt

8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk

1/2 cup store-bought live/active culture plain yogurt

Frozen/fresh fruit for flavoring

Thick bath towel

4 quart crock-pot

Plug in crock-pot and turn to low. Add an entire half-gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for two and a half hours. Unplug the crock-pot. Leave the cover on and let it sit for three hours.

When three hours have passed, scoop out two cups of the lukewarm milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in a half cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt, and any flavoring. You can also add about two teaspoons of gelatin at this point, if desired. Pour the mixture back into the crock-pot, stirring well to combine.

Put the lid back on the crock-pot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the pot, insulating it. Allow to sit for eight hours.

After the eight hours has passed, the yogurt will have thickened. Store in small jars or zip-lock containers. You can add fruits to the bottom of the container if you want. I slightly mash whatever fruit I am using. When blending in the fruit, bubbles will form but they will eventually settle.

Chill in the refrigerator. It should last yogurt will last seven to 10 days. Remember to save about a half cup as a starter to make a new batch.