That looks like bacteria unfortunately. You should not use this starter anymore and toss it.
Edit: I only just realised that this looks like a plastic container. Plastic is much less forgiving of contamination than glass – if I were you I’d switch to glass.
pareech
That looks like mold and should be chucked. Has it been sitting on your counter in a sealed container?
Presidentress
How long did you leave it? It’s a goner.
jj_donut
Toss. No longer edible.
PedanticPolymath
I do a lot of lacto-ferments (sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled veggies and eggs, etc). So I’ve got a pretty high tolerance for various molds and yeasts “infecting” my starter, and more often than not the answer to questions like this is “nah, thats fine, just mix it up and feed as usual”. BUT… you’ve got some colors and structures/textures going on there that I have NEVER seen in a starter before. Kind of concerning lol. I’d be scrapping that entire bin to prevent cross-contaminating something else, and probably giving my work surfaces and tools a real good scrub down and sanitization just to make sure no spores or anything made it elsewhere. That looks NASTY.
Bright-Second-5060
It went bad.
JournalistOne129
not the kind of bacteria u want
xslightlytoasted
Looks like it’s bleeding 🙁
Goobie-Goobie
Sourdont
Optimal_Tea_8196
Infected.
Rhiannon1307
Bacterial contamination, to be precise serratia marcescens. Highly toxic, not possible to salvage.
I’d recommend switching to glass as that can be cleaned more thoroughly than plastic.
Shoddy-Biscotti-1194
Toss it
Legitimate-Garbage54
In the future, be sure to clean your dish in between feedings and I second the suggestion to use glass. I leave mine in the refrigerator as well.
skipjack_sushi
What is happening with your fingers here?
Addapost
Right into the bin. Whole thing, don’t even open it.
Initial_Page_Num1
Jam and custard?
ConsistentClientz
Please throw it away this is wild.. did you keep it in the fridge or was it warm the entire time while not feeding? Was the container fully sanitizer before you used it? I’ve kept mine in the fridge in a glass jar for months and I’ve never seen anything like this… I’ve heard pink mold is dangerous but this is RED omg
fleatsd
That’s for sure contamination but for the future- I always keep backup pieces of my starter in the freezer. That way if you ever deal with contamination again you don’t need to start from scratch
Burner4NerdStuff
Honest question,
If this happens, can you salvage a small teaspoon from an “unaffected” part? Or is everything now compromised?
I had something similar happen and I tossed it, but during the weeks of reestablishing my starter, I couldn’t help but think it was like cheese, just cut the bad looking stuff out.
vendocomprendo
Bad container. Switch to glass next time and scrape the sides down every now and then
ColumbusJewBlackets
/r/contamfam
Prize_Pie8239
That looks like mold, i wouldn’t try to save it.
BlessedbMeh
So sorry. That is a bacteria. You cannot save any from that container. Try feeding some discard from the fridge for a few days if you have it and make sure the discard is not infected with this bacteria too. Just a quick reminder that once you have your new starter strong and healthy, spread it thinly on a piece of parchment paper and allow it to just dry. Once completely dried, put it into a jar, lid tight and keep in a cabinet. That way if you run into this issue, a broken jar or mold, you can rehydrate the starter and begin baking within a couple days.
I use glass mason jars with silicone venting fermentation lids from Amazon. Both are easy to sterilize which I do every time I bake the starter gets a small amount moved to the clean jar Everything that touches this needs to be sterilized in my educated opinion. I was military trained in biological warfare so my knowledge comes from a different place than most. I became a chef who taught food safe practices after my military service release.
badchefrazzy
Joke answer: It’s growing it’s own little pet!
Actual answer: It got moldy :/
spkoller2
Sour doh!
Dogmoto2labs
Eww, that is bad. Since it is a plastic, I would probably toss the whole thing.
Jessicajf7
Lipstick mold. Throw it away.
NewspaperCommercial7
Girl wtf
letswatchmovies
Someone put a beautifully presented sour cherry into your starter, I think. Or it could be a small stewed plum
soaker
I don’t understand what is happening with your hand?!
32 Comments
That looks like bacteria unfortunately. You should not use this starter anymore and toss it.
Edit: I only just realised that this looks like a plastic container. Plastic is much less forgiving of contamination than glass – if I were you I’d switch to glass.
That looks like mold and should be chucked. Has it been sitting on your counter in a sealed container?
How long did you leave it? It’s a goner.
Toss. No longer edible.
I do a lot of lacto-ferments (sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled veggies and eggs, etc). So I’ve got a pretty high tolerance for various molds and yeasts “infecting” my starter, and more often than not the answer to questions like this is “nah, thats fine, just mix it up and feed as usual”. BUT… you’ve got some colors and structures/textures going on there that I have NEVER seen in a starter before. Kind of concerning lol. I’d be scrapping that entire bin to prevent cross-contaminating something else, and probably giving my work surfaces and tools a real good scrub down and sanitization just to make sure no spores or anything made it elsewhere. That looks NASTY.
It went bad.
not the kind of bacteria u want
Looks like it’s bleeding 🙁
Sourdont
Infected.
Bacterial contamination, to be precise serratia marcescens. Highly toxic, not possible to salvage.
I’d recommend switching to glass as that can be cleaned more thoroughly than plastic.
Toss it
In the future, be sure to clean your dish in between feedings and I second the suggestion to use glass. I leave mine in the refrigerator as well.
What is happening with your fingers here?
Right into the bin. Whole thing, don’t even open it.
Jam and custard?
Please throw it away this is wild.. did you keep it in the fridge or was it warm the entire time while not feeding? Was the container fully sanitizer before you used it? I’ve kept mine in the fridge in a glass jar for months and I’ve never seen anything like this… I’ve heard pink mold is dangerous but this is RED omg
That’s for sure contamination but for the future- I always keep backup pieces of my starter in the freezer. That way if you ever deal with contamination again you don’t need to start from scratch
Honest question,
If this happens, can you salvage a small teaspoon from an “unaffected” part? Or is everything now compromised?
I had something similar happen and I tossed it, but during the weeks of reestablishing my starter, I couldn’t help but think it was like cheese, just cut the bad looking stuff out.
Bad container. Switch to glass next time and scrape the sides down every now and then
/r/contamfam
That looks like mold, i wouldn’t try to save it.
So sorry. That is a bacteria. You cannot save any from that container. Try feeding some discard from the fridge for a few days if you have it and make sure the discard is not infected with this bacteria too.
Just a quick reminder that once you have your new starter strong and healthy, spread it thinly on a piece of parchment paper and allow it to just dry. Once completely dried, put it into a jar, lid tight and keep in a cabinet. That way if you run into this issue, a broken jar or mold, you can rehydrate the starter and begin baking within a couple days.
https://preview.redd.it/uwd47gld4keg1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbc7b260f5740d1824460e2b78245ff031780b73
I use glass mason jars with silicone venting fermentation lids from Amazon. Both are easy to sterilize which I do every time I bake the starter gets a small amount moved to the clean jar Everything that touches this needs to be sterilized in my educated opinion. I was military trained in biological warfare so my knowledge comes from a different place than most. I became a chef who taught food safe practices after my military service release.
Joke answer: It’s growing it’s own little pet!
Actual answer: It got moldy :/
Sour doh!
Eww, that is bad. Since it is a plastic, I would probably toss the whole thing.
Lipstick mold. Throw it away.
Girl wtf
Someone put a beautifully presented sour cherry into your starter, I think. Or it could be a small stewed plum
I don’t understand what is happening with your hand?!
Use glass love 🩷