I pulled my jar of Carl's starter out of the fridge a couple of days ago
with the aim to give it a few refresh cycles before baking this weekend.
I fed it and let it sit for about 12 hours, and was very surprised when
I opened the jar to see some tiny fly-like creatures (kind of like fruit
flies) hovering around. At first, I thought that maybe these bugs
weren't actually in the jar but just hanging around outside, but after
another feed cycle, I definitely saw them fly out of the jar. I've
examined the starter very closely and there don't appear to be any bugs
actually in there so I'm confused as to where they could be coming from.
Could they be coming from the flour? I mix it into the starter pretty
well so I can't imagine that they're coming out of that. Has anyone else
ever experienced this?

james

"James" > wrote in message =
...

> I opened the jar to see some tiny fly-like creatures (kind of like =
fruit=20
> flies) hovering around. ... Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Maybe they *are* fruit flies! R.f.s. group-googling can be useful here, =
too.

If you are really lucky, you could get some flour beetles from your =
flour.
But they are quite big, compared to fruit flies. =20

James wrote:
> I pulled my jar of Carl's starter out of the fridge a couple of days ago
> with the aim to give it a few refresh cycles before baking this weekend.
> I fed it and let it sit for about 12 hours, and was very surprised when
> I opened the jar to see some tiny fly-like creatures (kind of like fruit
> flies) hovering around. At first, I thought that maybe these bugs
> weren't actually in the jar but just hanging around outside, but after
> another feed cycle, I definitely saw them fly out of the jar. I've
> examined the starter very closely and there don't appear to be any bugs
> actually in there so I'm confused as to where they could be coming from.
> Could they be coming from the flour? I mix it into the starter pretty
> well so I can't imagine that they're coming out of that. Has anyone else
> ever experienced this?
>
> james
They _are_ fruit flies which are attrackted by the yummy yeasty smell
your starter produced while idling in the warmth.
Those flies put eggs into the fruit and probably into your Carl.

The only way to keep them away is to cover the starter really good.

Joschi

Dick Adams wrote:

> Maybe they *are* fruit flies! R.f.s. group-googling can be useful here, too.

Who would have thought that this has been discussed here before. Amazing.

Looking back at the old posts, it wasn't clear to me whether the flies
have inhabited the starter or are just finding their way into it from
the outside. I keep my starter in an old jam jar but the lid doesn't fit
too well since there's quite a bit of old crusty starter around the rim.

Last night I mixed some starter with more flour and water in a mixing
bowl and covered it with cling film (in readiness for some billowy
loaves this evening). This morning, there were no flies evident in the
mixing bowl, but there were some in the jam jar. Perhaps it's time to
transplant my stock starter to a new jar with a better fitting lid.

james

Dick Adams wrote:

> Maybe they *are* fruit flies! R.f.s. group-googling can be useful here, too.

Who would have thought that this has been discussed here before. Amazing.

Looking back at the old posts, it wasn't clear to me whether the flies
have inhabited the starter or are just finding their way into it from
the outside. I keep my starter in an old jam jar but the lid doesn't fit
too well since there's quite a bit of old crusty starter around the rim.

Last night I mixed some starter with more flour and water in a mixing
bowl and covered it with cling film (in readiness for some billowy
loaves this evening). This morning, there were no flies evident in the
mixing bowl, but there were some in the jam jar. Perhaps it's time to
transplant my stock starter to a new jar with a better fitting lid.

james

"James" > wrote in message=20
...

> Who would have thought that this has been discussed here before.=20

>Amazing.

Everything has been discussed before. Actually, there is nothing left
to talk about.

> there were some (fruit flies) in the jam jar. Perhaps it's time to=20
> transplant my stock starter to a new jar with a better fitting lid.

Relax. The little ****ers hardly eat anything at all.

--=20
Dick Adams
<firstname> dot <lastname> at bigfoot dot com
___________________
Sourdough FAQ guide at=20
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html