Ray wrote:
> I use several cultures, and occasionally some stay in the refrigerator
> unused for weeks. I forget to feed them, and the accumulate a lot of brown
> liquid. And they have a different odor.
>
> I can restart these, but it takes a couple of days. I just wonder whether
> I'm getting the original once the restart.

I'm going to take a controversial position and say no... that when
L.B. cultures age in cold conditions they change. The various critter
populations adjust. The stuff that adapts to cold, acidic conditions
multiplies and the stuff that likes heat fades away. It's called
drift. And I've experienced it for years. My solution was to stop
keeping a bunch of different cultures. I keep the two I have at room
temperature and use them a lot. One benefit is that you more fully
realize that starter itself has considerably less impact on final
flavor than the manipulation of dough fermentation variables: aging,
retarding, using a proof box, etc. And also... the physical
manipulation of dough... as in replacing the machine with stretch and
folds, makes a flavor difference as well.

So... I'd argue for bagging the seldom used storage starters. You
never use them enough to develop (or fully understand) their
potential.