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Whats growing on my starter?

nikibakes's picture
nikibakes

Whats growing on my starter?

Hello!  I'm new to this forum and I'm hoping someone can help me out with my starter.  I'm new to the starter thing so forgive me if I'm not giving the best information or using the best terms.  =)  A little background:

I have two separate starters in the refrigerator.  One is from a dry starter I bought- King Arthur French Bread starter.  I've kept this one the longest (about 7 months) and I usually keep it out for a few days before baking and then put it back in the fridge for a week or so between baking.  About 2 months ago I began a new wild starter.  I have already baked with it with success. It was out on the counter until it was active enough to bake with so most of its existence prior to this problem.

I was out of the country for four weeks and I kept them refrigerated during that time.  Now i'm hoping to revive it. I believe i keep the starters more on the dry side.  In the past, between baking Starter 1 (the one with a purchased culture)  when in the fridge would have a very tiny amount of hooch on top- if any.  but would always revive just fine.  

Because starter 2 (the wild starter) has not been kept in the fridge long I can only base it off of the discard I kept separate for other baking projects.  I can say this too developed a small amount of hooch if any when kept for a few days in the fridge.   

Now to describe the current state.  Both are dry looking no hooch.  Starter 1 (purchased culture) has two patches on top I assume to be mold more white in color than anything.  one (the larger) a touch blue tint.  the other a touch pink tint.  I know pink is usually a bad sign.  The scent is acetone like. Can any of this be saved?  

Starter 2 is the mysterious one.  Also dry no hooch with a patch of growth on top only (at least from what i can tell) that covers most of the center of it.  The growth is white/cream in color and looks almost like a fungus or a coral and is raised.  The scent is not offensive more like a yeast smell than anything.  Can this be scraped off and saved?  I can include pictures if needed.  Thank you for any help in advance- I"m hoping this is an easy fix and can just be scraped off and I can used the unaffected starter to revive and keep baking.  =)

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven