Hi, i have 7 days old starter and there is a layer of hairy, velvet-like on top. When i touch it, it doesn’t stick to my finger. I tried to discard it but then after 24 hours it appears again. This start to happened at day 4. My starter rise almost double in size in 12-18 hours. It smell nice like sweet ripe fruit with a hint of alcohol. The “layer” has a bit darker color than the whole starter. I feed it once a day with half whole wheat and half organic rye flour. My questions are, is it mold? Is it safe or should i start over again? Thanks.
None if my starters have ever done that. I would start over making sure that what I used was sterilized by placing in boiling water or a dishwasher.
Next time, in addition to the above, I suggest you use pineapple juice for the first two feedings. That drops the pH and helps things get to the right acidity a bit faster.
i swap my container with vinegar. The pineapple juice you mentioned, is it the fresh one? Like I squeezed the pineapple and use the juice or buy the bottled one? Thanks
from a can of pineapple so bottled juice should be fine. I don’t know if fresh would work as it has live enzymes that might interfere with the process.
I once tried to launch a new starter and it just would not do anything. It turned out that my bottled pineapple juice had preservatives in it.
Paul
In the carton worked fine for me. I love my starter and tell it so often!
Carole
I think all bottled juice in my country use preservatives and fruit extract. But i can not find pineapple juice. We have sweetened pineapple in a can but not the juice. If it is the fresh pineapple we have plenty. Is there any option beside pineapple juice?
wonderful thread here, she does mention "pineapple juice, orange juice, or apple cider", so I think that as long as you can get something that's not adulterated, you should be fine. Good luck and keep us posted.
Carole
where they used fresh pineapple juice so I guess I was wrong. Go ahead and use that or fresh orange juice.
Fresh pineapple will ruin gelatine - that little chemistry lesson might have been what you were remembering - but I don't think fresh pineapple would kill a sourdough starter.
I didn’t know if it would have the same effect on a starter but fortunately, it doesn’t.
and if you have easy and abundant access to fresh pineapple, then it certainly looks like you can just chop your pineapple and collect the juices -- you don't need very much, since it's only for the first couple/few days to get your starter over the stinky bits, and then you would switch to (chlorine-free) water.
Good luck!
okay i’ll try to do that. But what’s weird is, i make my new starter 2 days ago (in case my starter really has mold) and today the mold grow like crazy and it is only day 2. My sister made her starter using same flour and water but she doesnt got mold. What do you think? We use different recipes but the ingredients still the same. I fed it once a day while she feed it twice a day.
everything you are using? Everything has to be super clean! I know you mentioned vinegar but please boil your jar and spoons for 10 minutes, cool and then use. And try using bottled water in case your water is the issue.
For my new 2 days old starter, i didnt boil everything since i did it before i post here. For my new one i will. But my sister also didnt boil anything she doesnt use vinegar swap either. We use bottled water since we can not drink tap water. What’s make mine and my sister different? I still cannot figure it out.
Maybe her container was cleaner than yours.