I didn't think this would be so difficult! I think it is so difficult because it is actually a step closer to giving up baking and I am resisting that. OTOH, I have had to really scale back baking even basic daily bread for health reasons.
Background:
I used to bake a lot, including SD. Years have gone by and baking has slowed a lot. Health issues that restrict my carbs, no relatives nearby, neighbors all seem to be diabetic and while they love the breads I make, it really is not good for them. So my baking is rare and seasonal.
I have 3 SD starters that have history and, also, very different characteristics.
1.There is "Jack". He was an original dried Sourdough Jack that was sold to tourists in San Francisco in the 60's in a little cellophane packet in a porcelain cheese crock. Before bar codes. I bought him for a quarter at a flea market. He revived and exploded out of the jar and was smelly as can be. After multiple discards/feedings he cleaned up and has been a stellar performer ever since. None of my starters make sour tasting bread but if you need it to, Jack is up for the task.
2. There is "Knott". Knott is from a starter that came across the west in a conestoga wagon with the Knott family in the late1800's. The lady that gave it to me had it handed down through the generations. Always performed very well-a reliable steady-eddy. Bread has a good fermented flavor but blander than Jack. It has been in continuous use all that time.
3. "Grape" was started as a fruit starter from grapes in my daughter's back yard. It was a fun start that I converted to a flour-based starter. It has aged well and performed well. Grape still maintains a subtle, fruity flavor. I liked to use it for sweeter breads.
These 3 starters have been together in my house for about 15 yrs and you would think they would act and taste the same but they don't. I really want to NOT maintain 3 starters. I also snowbird and take them back and forth. It is an involved process and I have it as streamlined as I can. but it is still involved. I have dried starters in the past but I have learned that they don't always revive. Even Jack.
So how do I do this? Do I just close my eyes and pick one? What do you think it would be like if I mixed them together?
Those aren't just starters, they're baking buddies.
For a short while, I had two starters; one liquid and one firm. I ditched the liquid starter after a few weeks (it couldn't take my neglectful treatment) and the firm one, sadly, met its demise a few years later when I forgot to hold some back from a levain build and it all got baked with the bread. Sigh. I've never used that approach again, even for formulae that call for it. Levain stays over there and starter stays over here. There's never any doubt about what's what and how it is to be used. My current starter, a firm one that I started in 2010 while living in South Africa, is still plugging along.
It would be a tough choice but I'd lean toward keeping Jack or Knott, were I in your shoes. Both have a cool back story, as well as being dependable performers. Maybe a coin toss to make the final decision, then gift the loser to someone who will cherish it.
Bonne chance!
Paul
I know we as humans apply attachments to things but in reality it's possible that all three starters could contain the very same core microbes. I imagine you'll disagree, but without a microbial analysis that involves at least partial sequencing to identify them you can only cling to the romanticism. Starters can have the same microbes but express different qualities and characteristics simply because they maintain different physiochemical properties; TTA, start and end pH, FQ - lactic/acetic balance as a result of different inputs, feed ratios, flour combos, hydration, temps, oxygen exposure...
To satisfy all invested, just mix them together and keep the legacy (romanticism) going. On a microbial level they'll figure it out...
Best,
Michael
I agree that they probably have the same core microbes but I am always astonished at how they have each maintained different attributes despite all my cross contamination with sloppy maintenance. They are all maintained the same. They live in the refrigerator for 1-2 months at a time between feedings. For feedings, I open the jars next to each other, I do use a clean spoon in each when I pull out the discard from each and to stir but I'm sure there is cross contamination. I feed them imprecisely with a dash of spring water and a few spoonfuls (not measured) of AP flour. After they have awakened and repopulated for a few feedings, then back in the refrig they go for a month or two. So they are similarly neglected, similarly fed and probably cross contaminated and yet, after all these years, they taste different, they smell different and they perform a little differently from each other. Amazing.
I should make a 4th starter of a mix of the 3 and see how it goes before I re-home or discard the others.
mix some up with extra flour to dry them up, jar or plastic baggie, and store in a dark, cool place until you feel like opening up one of them again... to make sure the flour doesn't have any weavils, freeze it for a few days to a week first, then mix with the starters.
Every 6 months, I relocate and take my cultures with me. In USA I am called a Snowbird-summers in north, winters in south. Before I travel, I feed the cultures and get them really active. I take some of each culture in a wet form in small ziploc bags and some in dried form. The drying is done at room temperature so as not to kill the culture. When I reach my destination I maintain the wet culture as usual and the dried goes in the refrigerator as backup. A few times I have attempted to re-hydrate and start the dried cultures just to see if it worked. Maybe 1 out of 3 times, I actually got an active starter. The other times they just didn't activate so I don't have a lot of confidence in using that as a backup method.
I have also tried Dabrownman's No Muss/No Fuss starter program. It worked fine for a few months but if neglected for a longer period of time, it failed. There was also a method I read about here where an active starter was encased in flour, like a shell and could be left for years, if need be. Then just crack it open and add water to re-activate. Again, only worked for me if left for 1-2 months and I really question if I was reviving or creating a new starter that had a head start because lactobacillus was already present.
I just mixed my 3 starter's discards and fed it. I will see how it goes. I have a few months to decide. Meantime, Jack, Knott and Grape have been fed, grown and now tucked away for a cold sleep until I decide.
Each starter lives on.
Mix them together and watch for a while. That's the best bet. Enjoy!
I should make a 4th starter of a mix of the 3 and see how it goes before I re-home or discard the others.
There you go. That's the best solution.
while I agree with all the clamor for the combo approach, I'm just writing to encourage you on the idea that you might re-home your starters. This seems wonderful and generous and exactly the right thing to do. Long live Jack, Knott, & Grape!
Rob
Rehoming sounds like a lovely idea, but how about dehydrating a little of each first, so that you can always bring them back? If I had to pick one, I might go with Knott.