On Nov 11, 4:26 pm, Sam > wrote:

> That's not the point as far as I am concerned. You think there is
> selection of one SD critter over another based on temperature when you
> store them in a fridge and/or "something else" may take over.

Actually, Sam, I do not think that anything extrinsic to the culture
grows. So there's nothing "new" happening, nothing else is taking
over. Just shifts among critter populations already there.

The Woods stuff is excellent.

> The effect of this will be factored in into your result when you do the
> same routine over and over again - putting a ready starter into the
> fridge, take it out, run it through the same stages and put a sample back.

Yes... I think there's a lot of truth to this. One's maintenance
routine hugely affects the culture. I always felt that the critters
shifted when cooling or warming, not when they were chilled into
senescence. And I speculated that the repeated time spent betweeen say
45 F. and 60 F. was when the LB's lost ground and the yeasts gained
ground. But that was, of course, speculation as I lack the instruments
to verify anything. Mostly I've been trying to frame a reason for why
the countertop culture was always better than the refrigerator
culture.

> As long as both methods make good bread, who cares?

I guess my answer is that I believe the countertop culture is better
than cold culture. I note that you are a big Detmold practicioner.
Someday, I'll probably do that too. And when I discover that
everything you've said about Detmold is true, I'll wonder why I was so
lazy for so long.