My sourdough starter went full zombie mode last Thursday

I was trying to revive my starter after it sat in the fridge for a month. I fed it like normal, but after two days it just smelled... wrong. Not sour, but weirdly sweet and a bit like nail polish remover. I kept feeding it anyway, hoping it would bounce back, but it never got bubbly. It just sat there, a sad, thin paste. I finally dumped it out yesterday after my wife walked into the kitchen and said, 'What died in here?' I think the yeast just gave up and the bad bacteria took over. It's a bummer because that starter was from a friend in Portland. Has anyone else had a starter go bad like that, and did you try to save it or just start fresh?

3 comments

3 Comments

webb.stella4d ago

right @jordangibson, it's like that expired milk in the back of the fridge we all pretend we'll use.

burns.brooke2mo ago

Feel your pain, had to euthanize my own starter last month.

jordangibson2mo ago

It's wild how many people have a sourdough starter story now. Feels like a weird little shared life event, like getting a bad haircut or losing a power adapter. You put all that time into keeping it alive just to have it turn on you.