I'm on Day 5 of my first starter, and after reading these comments I wonder. My starter is very thick, sticky, and elastic, not bubbly or foamy much. Since I didn't use a measuring cup I can't tell whether it's doubled--probably not, but it seems to grow. I see that I needed to fluff the AP before measuring; I just filled the measuring cup and leveled with a knife, which may mean I've been adding 1.24 cups of flour each feeding. It also doesn't smell so much fruity as maybe buttery, with the butter smell being slightly off. So now I'm wondering if the whole wheat flour I used had gone rancid or has started to go rancid. I'm not sure when I got it--some time last year! So now I'm wondering if I should toss it and start over. I've been using the discards in the recipes, and there is a distinctive taste--not awful, but just a little different, not like the usual sourdough flavor of commercial breads I'm familiar with. Advice?

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