Author Topic: Can you describe the smell of a good starter too? (Read 7554 times)

Barry · « **Reply #20 on:** September 20, 2006, 01:07:01 PM »

Hi Everyone,

I have the 1847 Oregon Trail starter, and it smell mildly of wine when it comes out of the fridge.

Once it has been fed 3 or 4 times, it becomes very active and smell of honey. People smelling it for the first time say it smells like a sandwich made of freshly baked bread spread with a bit of butter and a lot of honey !

Kind regards.

Barry

mistergreen · « **Reply #21 on:** September 20, 2006, 02:37:10 PM »

hey guys,
i found this on pbs with julia child.
the chef here use a technique that's different from what i've been reading
http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/meet/ortiz.html#

i love julia

ps. click on the sourdough video link on the bottom

scott r · « **Reply #22 on:** September 20, 2006, 03:39:04 PM »

what an awesome link!

Damn it is easy to catch wild yeast. I had no idea.

mistergreen · « **Reply #23 on:** September 20, 2006, 06:45:35 PM »

another link from the same site. i've been looking for this for a long time

http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/meet/silverton.html#

she's an expert , no doubt. she tasteed the starter!!!!

Bill/SFNM · « **Reply #24 on:** September 20, 2006, 07:06:24 PM »

Nancy Silverton is the source of many of my bread recipes - although I have modified them to accommodate the characteristics of my starters. Her book, Breads from the La Brea Bakery, is my most frequently referenced bread book. Her book is only for people interested in using natural starters. She often calls for starters plus commercial yeast, so many of my modifications are for 100% starter.

Bill/SFNM

tonymark · « **Reply #25 on:** September 20, 2006, 08:51:41 PM »

Quote from: mistergreen on September 20, 2006, 06:45:35 PM

she's an expert , no doubt. she tasted the starter!!!!

I tasted the Patsys starter for the first time yesterday. Quite sour, with a good bit of flavor.

This link is gold. I had a fantastic sourdough bread a while back at a local restaurant that makes its own bread (Bacchanalia, Atlanta). I asked about the bread and the waiter informed me that the starter was cultivated from grapes. I guess this is how they did it.

TM

mistergreen · « **Reply #26 on:** September 20, 2006, 09:55:09 PM »

how did you get your hands on Patsy's starter?

i lived in NYC for 2 years. I didn't know there was 2 patsy's. I ate at the one by union square and thought it wasn't anything special but then I heard the real Patsy's is uptown.

tonymark · « **Reply #27 on:** September 20, 2006, 10:05:09 PM »

Quote from: mistergreen on September 20, 2006, 09:55:09 PM

how did you get your hands on Patsy's starter?

From Jeff, of course. http://www.think2020.com/jv/recipe.htm. He goes by varasano on the forum. He posted on this thread yesterday.

varasano · « **Reply #28 on:** September 20, 2006, 10:49:43 PM »

Quote from: tonymark on September 20, 2006, 08:51:41 PM

I tasted the Patsys starter for the first time yesterday.
TM

I thought you used that starter a long time ago?

Jeff

tonymark · « **Reply #29 on:** September 20, 2006, 11:04:04 PM »

I meant I actually tasted the starter and not the dough made from the starter.

varasano · « **Reply #30 on:** September 20, 2006, 11:08:03 PM »

Really? Can you get sick from eating the live culture. Sometimes I find that my skin is itchy after dealing with it.

Jeff

tonymark · « **Reply #31 on:** September 20, 2006, 11:20:41 PM »

Quote from: varasano on September 20, 2006, 11:08:03 PM

Really? Can you get sick from eating the live culture.

Probably not, what about yogurt? Better yet, what about gueze or lambic beer.
I had some pretty harsh gueze in Brussels several years ago. Lindimans makes a mild lambic that is available at most package stores.

TM

varasano · « **Reply #32 on:** September 20, 2006, 11:21:56 PM »

gotcha

mistergreen · « **Reply #33 on:** September 20, 2006, 11:33:22 PM »

hey varasano,
i saw your site on boing boing and followed it to this site.

and you might be a little allergic to the starter like some people are allergic to beer.

scott r · « **Reply #34 on:** September 21, 2006, 01:06:16 AM »

I have read that the organisms in starter are actually supposed to be good for your digestive system. I always assumed that meant when you eat a piece of bread with it, but now that I am thinking about it wouldn't all the bacteria etc. be dead and unable to do you any good with baked bread?

tonymark · « **Reply #35 on:** September 21, 2006, 08:17:41 AM »

Quote from: scott r on September 21, 2006, 01:06:16 AM

I have read that the organisms in starter are actually supposed to be good for your digestive system. I always assumed that meant when you eat a piece of bread with it, but now that I am thinking about it wouldn't all the bacteria etc. be dead and unable to do you any good with baked bread?

OT - kinda
We are really drifting into the realm of probiotics here. They are available in capsule form in most health food stores and probably Whole Foods.
Cultured milk products like yogurt, real sour cream, kefir, and some cultured cheeses contain plenty of probiotics. In the book Nourishing Traditions Sally Fallon advocated cultured milk products over plain milk. The way it has been consumed for thousands of years.

Cutlured vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchee also contain plenty of probiotics.

As for the culture, it probably is good for you, but after tasting it, I would rather eat yogurt or a proper sauerkraut.

As for cooking any cultured food, most if not all of the beneficial organisms are destroyed.

TM

pizzanapoletana · « **Reply #36 on:** September 21, 2006, 12:08:38 PM »

There is no guarantee that a live culture doesn't contain, even in minimum quantities, harmful bacteria. after cooking it is surely ok, but I would not swear on the raw culture.

However it is a fact that the acidity of a balanced starter make an unsuitable environment for harmful bacteria (think pickles)

Ciao

mistergreen · « **Reply #37 on:** September 21, 2006, 04:32:42 PM »

pizzapolenta is right... if a dangerous bug finds an environment favorable, it'll live there... that's why pasturization is such a big thing.. it reduces flavor greatly, but perchance, it won't kill anybody.

ps. comercial yogurt doesn't have that much biodiversity in it... they inject one strain of (lactobaccilus) in a sterilize milk environment..

tonymark · « **Reply #38 on:** September 21, 2006, 07:06:38 PM »

Quote from: mistergreen on September 21, 2006, 04:32:42 PM

ps. comercial yogurt doesn't have that much biodiversity in it... they inject one strain of (lactobaccilus) in a sterilize milk environment..

I would like to mention Nancy's yogurt available at my local Whole Foods. It contains 6 cultures with 4 being different lactobaccilus cultures.

TM

mistergreen · « **Reply #39 on:** September 22, 2006, 02:30:57 AM »

oh nice. i should hit the whole food yogarts..
i remember eating homemade yogart and the flavor is so much better than the supermarket stuff.

and i guess that's why you guys are making your own starters for bread.