April 12, 2009 - 9:44am
Mailing starter
A friend of mine would like some of my starter. I have spread some rye starter (watered down to a melted icecream consistency) on a sheet of plastic wrap and set it out to dry.
Any tips or traps for me in doing this? She is only a day or two away (NY vs Boston). Should I attempt to mail her a small ball of firm live starter (undried)?
Jaya
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I would make a firm starter with @ 75% hydration, which is how I keep my starter normally. Give it a fresh feeding, but use ice cold water. Put the starter in a plastic container that will allow it to rise. Tape it shut, but poke a small knive hole to breathe. Mark the plastic container so your friend will know how much it rises. Pack with the plastic ice packs.....ship package marked fragile.....and I would think everything would be great! If the product happens to rise and fall too much in shipping.....your friend can give it a fresh feeding when they receive the starter.
i keep dried backup samples of my starter in the freezer and once in a while I'll try them out and make a new one. Some of them don't ever rehydrate.
On the other hand KA sent me one of their starters in the mail once. It was a stiff culture in a closed platic container. That one revived just fine. I think its wayt more resilient than we think. Unless its going to be traveling in the dead of summer I think it would be just fine. maybe feed it with cold water as the other pooster suggested.
and put it into a small zip bag. Mix a little of you latest discard in with plenty of flour to make a small ball of stiff stater, ending with about a tablespoon or two of it will do, flatten it and put it into a small zip bag too. Now stick both in a small padded envelope and dash off to the mailbox.
The dry starter will make the journey fine and since it's quite fresh (being just dried, not months old and frozen), there should be no issue perking that up. BUT she'll also have the fresh stuff to mix up in a quarter cup of water and add about 3/8 cup of flour and she'll be on her way with already full blown starter. She can then keep the dry as back up.
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Edit: Well dang, didn't see the post above me saying the same thing pretty much. Ah well.
I decided to try the cheap way first. I mixed up the starters to a melted icecream consistency and spread them on plastic wrap and let them dry. Then I put them in plastic bags which I put in a plain envelope and mailed them out. This only cost me a first class stamp.
If it doesn't work, I will try the more expensive 'mail-the-live-starter' option.
Thank you for your tips. I will definitely use them if and when I mail the live starter