Hi Barb!

I have had a 50/50 AP/Whole Wheat starter for about 6 years. It’s been healthy and vibrant but, a few weeks ago, it had a bit of a traumatic few days. My refrigerator died a slow death in the middle of a heat wave here in NYC and my starter sat in the fridge at around 60 degrees for several days before I realized things were off. I took my starter out and fed her twice, then tucked her in the freezer (which was a decidedly NOT frozen 42 degrees at the time) while I waited for the new fridge to arrive.

At some point, the freezer apparently recovered a bit because when I was finally ready to “move in” to the new refrigerator, my starter was completely frozen. I let it defrost in the new fridge rather than shock it with 85 degree heat wave “room temperature.” It defrosted to a very curdled consistency and had a super cheesy smell. I did not see any mold. I have been feeding 1:2:2 every 12 hours for over a week now and see little activity between feedings. I’ve got a few small bubbles and a very wee rise toward the end of the 12 hours, but the smell is still quite odd, somewhere between curdled milk and cider vinegar.

I do have some flakes that I dried about 6 months ago, so all is not lost. I am rehydrating those now and hope it revives easily. But I’m conflicted about continuing to nurse my old girl back to health. I still see no mold (but with a partially wheat flour giving it a beige color, maybe I’m just missing it.) What do you think? Time to toss?

Thanks so much for your expert advice!

Abbe

• Reply