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I still think about the sourdough starter I killed 7 years ago
I had a starter I named Bertha that I kept alive for almost 3 years. Left her in the fridge when I went on a two-week trip to visit my mom in Ohio and she grew a weird pink mold. Anyone else ever name their starter and feel oddly guilty when it dies?
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williamhenderson5h agoMost Upvoted
...honestly I don't get all the guilt people carry around over this stuff. It's flour and water, not a pet or a child. You left it in the fridge and it grew mold, big deal. I've tossed starters that were totally fine just because I got bored with the feeding schedule. People act like they abandoned a family member or something. If it's that serious just buy a new packet of starter off Etsy for five bucks and move on with your life.
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charlies371h ago
I get where you're coming from, but I think you're glossing over the fact that some of those starters are years old, passed down from grandmas or friends. I've seen people who've kept a starter alive for a decade and that flour-water mix becomes kind of a symbol of their baking journey, not just the ingredients. Tossing one that's been healthy that long can feel a bit different than chucking a packet you bought last week. Your mileage may vary of course, but I think for some folks it's more about the memories and effort than the actual price tag.
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charles_coleman23m ago
Damn, williamhenderson, you're kind of missing the whole point here. It's not about the cost of flour and water. It's about the fact that people attach meaning to random stuff all the time, and that's just how humans work. I bet you've got a coffee mug or a t-shirt you'd be annoyed to lose, even though you could buy another one for ten bucks. We all do this with things that remind us of good times or hard work. The starter thing is just one tiny example of a bigger pattern where we turn regular objects into little memories. Nobody's actually comparing it to losing a kid, they're just saying it stings a bit when something you put time into goes bad.
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