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PSA: My 3-year-old sourdough starter turned into a science project gone wrong last month
I pulled my starter, 'Bubbles,' out of the fridge last month after about 6 weeks of neglect (life got busy, you know). It was a jar of gray liquid on top and a weird, almost rubbery layer underneath. I figured I could just pour off the hooch and feed it, but the smell was off, like old gym socks and acetone. I tried feeding it for a week straight, twice a day, but it never got that good, yeasty smell back. It just stayed sluggish and smelled faintly of nail polish remover. I finally had to dump the whole thing, which was a bummer because I'd kept it going since 2021. I think the fridge was just too warm, maybe around 45 degrees, and it let some nasty stuff take over. Has anyone else had a starter go bad after a long fridge stay and managed to save it?
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evannelson3d ago
My friend's starter, 'Dough Vinci,' had a similar gray hooch layer after a vacation. She scraped out a tiny bit from the very bottom, like a single teaspoon, and put it in a clean jar. She fed it with whole wheat flour for three days straight. It came back to life, but it definitely had a weird, sour smell for almost two weeks before it finally mellowed out. I guess sometimes you can save a little bit if you catch it early enough.
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Scraped a tiny bit from the very bottom of my jar after a similar gray hooch situation. Fed that little bit with rye flour in a new jar for a few days, which seemed to help it fight off the bad smells. It took over a week of regular feeding before it finally started acting normal again.
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