Mold on my starter?
Hello! I've had some personal things going on that have kept me from baking for a few months, so I've kept my starter in a covered coffee mug in the fridge for a while. (I've previously had no problems with this method) Today I took it out, and found this.
My primary concern lies in the white dots on the dried bits on the wall of the mug. I'm unsure if that's mold. Even if it is, none seems to have made it onto the surface of the starter--the dots on the dried surface look more to me like condensation that evaporated on the dried surface, or even tiny bubbles that hardened as it dried. Maybe wishful thinking.
I'm hesitant to just take the "better safe than sorry" approach and chuck the whole thing, because the starter is about 3 years old now, and rises like a champion. ? Just looking for input from eyes more experienced than mine, I'll part with him if I have to.
I'm no microbiologist but it looks fine to me. Our sourdough starters are very hostile environments for anyone else to take root. Take a little from the bottom if you prefer and feed it to build up your starter. I guess it will start right up.
... but I don't think it's mold. These guys are a good resource, check the section on how to rescue your starter. And once you get it healthy again, you might consider preserving some. You can freeze it, or dehydrate it, or preserve some in flour.
Good luck!
I know this is very late, but thank you for this resource!! I took their advice and carefully monitored for mold or off-smells, and besides the residual acetone smell of a long hibernating starter (which quickly went away after a couple feedings) everything seems great. Thank you!! 😭
I`m not sure if it is mold, but it looks not vwry nice.