Yankee Starter now resides in Alabama
I was given my starter from a friend in Massachusetts three years ago. She had had it for several years before that and was told it was over 50 years old. Wonder how long a starter has to be in the south before it is no longer considered "yankee".
Bringing the starter home to Alabama is now part of our family history. Because of airport security I worried myself half to death on how to do it. Ended up putting 2 oz. in a sippy cup which I enclosed in my makeup bag. I couldn't wait to get home and start making it into a bigger cache.
The starter has since been divided, experimented with, shared, and very much enjoyed.
I discovered this site because while I was sharing my starter with a friend, someone came up and smelled it and said that it smelled too much like alcohol, an indication of spoilage and it should be thrown away! So I started looking to see if it is possible for a starter to have too much alcohol. The thought had never occurred to me.
Think I may be able to give up some of my bread books now that I have found this site and for that my husband will be very grateful.
You can never have too many cook books.
One major byproduct of fermentation is alcohol so if it smells strong of alcohol, then there is a fair amount of byproduct in the starter. A sure sign that it's hungry and needs to be feed. After a discard and feeding, the starter should smell sweet like wet flour which gradually changes as the flour starches are consumed by bacteria and yeast.
I always pay attention to those who sniff my starter and make negative comments. Don't ever let them clean your refrigerator or take care of your starter! Could end in dasasta! :)
Welcome JW!
Thank you for letting me know. No longer worried that my starter has gone bad.
Fixinta go in the kitchen and put it to work.
I think y'all would have to consider it a damnyankee. A yankee would have moved back north by now.
Paul
For like the South, it "shall rise again" ;-)