Help, is my sourdough starter moldy??
I've had a sourdough starter for a while now. This week I noticed it developing a hard skin on top when I didn't feed it frequently enough. But I concluded this to be normal. What I am not sure about is if it is moldy as well. There are some white spots on this hard skin, and while from research it seems mold is usually pink or orange on sourdough starters, I want to be safe. I really don't want to discard my starter if it isn't actually moldy though! Attached you can see a picture of my starter - interestingly the white spots aren't there anymore (I put in the fridge two days ago, right after spotting the white), but the whole top seems a lighter whitish hue... If anyone can identify whether it is moldy or not (and if not what it is), I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
Mold comes in many colors. But if worried, take a small amount from the bottom, Feed something like 25 to 1, keep warm and stir a couple 3 times a day. It'll be back to normal in a few days. Just did this with another user. All good in a couple days. Enjoy!
I’ve read that pink/orange mold is dangerous and if those colours of mold are in your starter it is best to toss the starter. With other colours of mold, you can try to extract some of the starter from the bottom and put it in a new container to start feeding that while tossing the rest of it.
"But if worried, take a small amount from the bottom, Feed something like 25 to 1, keep warm and stir a couple 3 times a day. It'll be back to normal in a few days."
I recently caused a profound die-off of my three year old starter and successfully revived it as described above. I think it is even better than before.