Hi Dan-
I've been off enjoying myself in 100 degree < weather with no AC for
the past 5 days. And since I'm a native of the foggy SF bay area that
translates poorly <g>. Every time I hugged another damp body I was
reminded of my years in IN, LOL!

> > (I tend to use my hands to mix the starter and water together)
> Really?!! I would worry about bacterial contamination.
> Actually, you have me using my fingers now to wipe off
> the plastic spoon (most of my other spoons are metal).

Hee hee.
I did say I'd washed my hands, she pleaded. (Having seen those health
and safety presentations about the zoo that lives on every inch of our
bodies, and those magnified photos are worse than any horror film I can
think of, I do know that washing my hands does not mean there's not
"contamination" <g>.)


> How long can you store old starter in the fridge before you use it?
> Do you have to use it right away?


I've left starters for many months negelected in the fridge. Don't know
about you, but for me life happens and sometimes other priorities take
over in a big way... Sometimes the neglected starter requires that you
treat it well for a week or two in order to persuade it to come back
after being shamelessly ignored. When/if I can't bring something back I
turn to other people's fridges who have some of mine or theirs to give
back to me. I also have dried my starters, and dried versions I've been
given. It's another way to have backup.

I'm not sure I understand your question: Do you have to use it right
away? Once you do the refresh process you will need to build it up and
use it, or put it in the fridge. Have you read that interview with
Michael Ganzle at the back of Wing & Scott? It's one of many
explainations related to that.

> First I stir the contents very well.
> Then I pour almost of it out, leaving only a few dregs in the bottom.
> But that's enough. Just add a couple/few Ts of new food, and stir.
> That little I don't mind throwing away.

That's great. On the occassions when I've been brutally negligent I
think I may have been saved by the fact I happened to have a somewhat
larger, 1/2C ?, amount of funk to work with so that there was, under
the nasty stuff, that dreg you mention of ok goop I could revive when I
had to toss out the rest. And since I forgot to do a controlled study
<g> I can't say whether the really hideous funk stuff would also have
eventually revived perfectly well. Quite possibly it would have. A
couple of us just encouraged someone on another sourdough list to walk
thru the process of saving her "old reliable" which was in a nasty
state, and before long she had done so. I think I'm addressing a
question you didn't ask <g>.

> And another point is that, if you're baking large amounts and you can start
> a couple days before, you can take your 1T of starter out of the fridge and
> just keep feeding it larger and larger amounts, without throwing any out,
> until not only do you have tons of starter, but it's also very active from
> being fed so much/so long at room temp. If your starter doubles every 12
> hours, then 1T will turn into 1c after 2 days, 1qt after 3 days, 1gal after
> 4 days.

That's what I do as well, basically.

> > I do think it's good to really clean your container when you
> > refresh the starter so you are putting your refreshed starter
> > back into a nice clean container.
> Why, ml, are you afraid something might grow in it?

Do you ever open up a jar of jam from the fridge and the whole upper
part of the jar has mold on all the bits of jam stuck up there? It
really annoys me <g>. I try to get all of the mold out, take what I
need for my PB&J sandwich, put the jar back into the fridge and hope it
won't regrow. I notice sometimes it regrows and sometimes it doesn't.
Hmmmm Well, anyway, you won't neglect your starters the way I
sometimes have <g>.

> Actually, I do that at least once in a while. It also gets back
> to one of my earlier questions: Bacteria seem to like water.
> What kind of undesirables would grow on dried starter?

I have not a clue, and they didn't actually seem to injure me or my
starter. In fact it wasn't/isn't all that "dry" inside the jar inside
the fridge. I think I only phrased the washing out bit as a good idea,
not as something for the "must do" list. After all, Another Dan, anyone
who mixes her water and old starter with her hands clearly isn't
thinking sterile <g>.

-Marylouise There's no place like home, especially when it's 30
degrees cooler!