Ed Dalton Wrote
<<So a starter can be no older than two weeks, interesting>>
It is possible to develop a culture that thrives at low temperature with
infrequent refreshments, and these cultures may not change as quickly. But
change they will.
<<<So this whole San Francisco thing is a farce, different water, different
flour, so the thing changes every two weeks and there is nothing they can
do about it. Some of those places claim their cultures are 150 years old.
Your saying Sourdough Internatioal and others selling starters with claims
of the starters being from days gone by are all bogus. Even if they use
lab conditions to propagate the starter, the starter they start with can
only be two weeks old, they should be sued!>>>
Now let's keep a perspective here... (Litigation?!?) I think it's very
cool that people maintain these cultures for years and I believe it adds to
the pleasure of baking. There MAY even be some credibility to their claims
of uniqueness, if done in a sterile environment, although I'd doubt that
every culture these companies carry is on the same refreshment schedule and
THIS, more than anything, will be the source of each culture's uniqueness.
I only think someone has crossed the line when they claim they are selling
the same culture that the prospectors used or when they claim that a home
baker will somehow be able to maintain the same culture that people are
using in Cairo without the benefit of Cairo flour, Cairo water and Cairo
weather.
<<<I know I'm glad to find this out. I will throw all my starters away and
start new ones since they will be the same anyway>>>
NOOOO!!! Your starters are established. Why waste time elaborating a new
one every time you want to bake? You've already done the work. If you
keep several, try refreshing each one differently to get different
results. For instance, refresh one with a higher ratio of water than the
other (you will have to refresh it more frequently because it will be more
active). Keep one at a lower temperature than the others. Let one go for
longer than the others between refreshment. You will notice a vast difference.
The best thing anyone can do to maintain consistent performance in their
starter is stick with a consistent refreshment schedule (same time, same
temperature every time) and always use the same ingredients. Different
schedules produce different cultures. Different temperatures (both ambient
and ingredient) produce different cultures as well. Mess around with these
concepts. Whatever you do, keep to a schedule. This will allow you to see
and control the many variables of sourdough starters.
It was said in a different post that the "air" theory is mostly
insignificant to sourdough evolution. I agree that ingredient choice and
refreshment schedule are much more influential on a culture's evolution
than the ambient organisms. Unless you are brewing beer.
<<<Makes one wonder where all this symbiotic relationship crap came from to
begin with. I guess it is silly to think that one organism can supply
something unique to another and that organism returns the favor by
supplying something the other guy wants to the exclusion of others that
want to get in on the good thing.>>>
Again, let's not misinterpret this. A healthy culture relies symbiotic
relationships, but they are dynamic. The players are constantly changing.
Greg Carpenter
Petoskey, MI