KAF starter going acetone
I ordered King Arthur’s starter about a year ago, and it has been consistently great with very little maintenance. Survives long stretches in the fridge, etc. The last time I had it out the fridge about a month ago, I think something bad got in there because I noticed the acetone smell. I was a little concerned when I took it out a few days ago because there was no hooch. Also, there was barely any activity after feeding it. But sure enough, by second feeding it was going crazy again, but that smell came back.
I’ve been feeding it 1:5:5 ratio twice a day. Then I tried 1:8:8, and this morning 1:10:10. Still have that smell. It has no problem doubling in size, so I guess the yeast is healthy.
I did manage to get the smell to go away once by keeping it at about 90 degrees for the evening in the oven. Next morning it smelled pretty good, but the acetone came back after that.
I have read several articles on acetone, but it seems the solution can vary depending on situation. Not sure if I should go with the salt method, or lemon juice, or something else for this particular case, but I’m hoping I offered enough data that the experts can figure it out :) . Thanks!