Hi, all.
I'm working with a starter that is about a year old. In the past, it always smelled very pleasantly yeasty. Recently, I've been baking less often and sometimes let a day lapse without feeding it. It has developed a VERY fruity smell that I find unpleasant. I'm back on a 24 hour feeding schedule now and have been discarding the majority with each feeding to try to be sure it is as healthy as possible. But, it still has that smell.
Thoughts or ideas? My spouse doesn't smell a difference, but then he isn't really working with the starter as much.
It's an unbleached AP + rye starter.
Unusual odors will dilute themselves out eventually. Keep going. Enjoy!
How did it work out?
one time I left my starter on the counter for too long. Got an orange skin, smelled like feet. But I tossed 7/8ths of it, and fed and discarded 4-5 times, and all was well.