HOW AND WHY I WASH MY SOURDOUGH STARTER JAR
In one of the Facebook sourdough groups I’m in, I saw a post recently that asked, ‘Do I need to clean my sourdough starter jar?’ and at the time of my seeing the post, there were 190 comments!
Sourdough is special to the experiences of each person and people feel passionate about why they do certain things. I always say, if you don’t know the answer, try it and see what happens. This applies to starter jar maintenance and all else in sourdough!
I like to think about history and how we’ve evolved, so a lot of things we do are based on present day conveniences. For example, refrigerators are an invention and yeast and bacteria have been fermenting our bread for ages, so it’s likely that they can survive most of what we throw at them.
I always enjoy a good podcast or food that allows me to connect the dots and discover why we do what we so.
So my choice to clean my jar, once in a blue moon, is based on science.
Thankfully, I haven’t had any run-ins with a starter that smells rancid or elicits signs of unwelcome fungi or bacteria, but I use my starter every.single.day. So as I scrape the sides of the jar off or continue to stir the cultures, I feel that this is what’s kept my jar healthy.
But, as my jar gets crustier and harder to stir, I assume that the crust may welcome hazardous (to the human body) fungi, such as mold. Also, because I don’t refrigerate my jar very often, I don’t know if any bug larva will present themselves in desirable conditions, such as starter that’s plastered onto the outside of the jar and open-air. So I’ve decided that washing my jar won’t hurt.
Did you know that there is an acetic acid inside of sourdough starter that acts as a natural preservative and will fight off any microorganisms that will spoil your sourdough starter — cool right?
It’s why I’ve never had to refrigerate my starter!
With the information I’ve acquired over time, about sourdough starter, I’ve developed care practices, when feeding and maintaining my jar — mix well and wash when necessary.
In this Instagram short I posted, the jar was really wet and sticky and wouldn’t wipe off, so I felt it was time to transfer the starter and wash the jar. Here is a method that I’ve developed, over time, that salvages the jar and avoids my having to wash any starter down the drain.
Move as much starter content out of the jar, as is possible. You can either bake with the contents, or move to a new jar and feed the contents with flour and water to keep your starter active and your yeast healthy.
Fill the jar, to its brim with hot, hot water and let sit for a short time.
Most of the inside of the jar contents should soften in this step.
To avoid wasting water and pouring any starter down your sink drain, discard the watered down starter solution into a compost pile, worm bin or into your garden. Microbes live in soil, compost and worm bins. Worm eat microbes and soil loves water, so this is why I hypothesize that sourdough starter is actually really good for our backyard bungalows. It’s a wonderful way to recycle our sourdough contents.
Repeat step 4, until the majority of the contents is gone.
Use your fingers or a sponge to scrape the remains off and re-use clean jar, as necessary.
Watch the entire process of how I clean my jars, here —
https://youtu.be/1Pmptvzc64I
The more frequent I use my jars, the easier they are to clean. Sourdough is a glorious vocation and although cleaning out the jars is a chore, it never fully feels like a horrible one! Whether or not you decide to clean your jar, please share with us in the comments below!
Waynna
