D
17

My sourdough starter went belly up after a 3 week vacation

Came home to find it moldy and smelling like nail polish remover, had to toss the whole jar. Has anyone else lost a starter from neglecting it too long, or am I just bad at this lol?
2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
2 Comments
taylor_flores
the nail polish remover smell is rough, sorry you had to toss it.
2
cole_davis47
Wait, did you leave it on the counter or did you stick it in the fridge before you left? Because I've heard of people just leaving their starter out for weeks and it somehow surviving, or at least not getting moldy, if they fed it right before. But the nail polish remover smell is the big red flag, that's acetone from the bacteria eating everything and starving, so was it already on its way out before you even left? I'm trying to figure out if three weeks is just too long no matter what, or if a fridge vacation with a good feeding beforehand could have saved it.
1