Mike, excellent commentary. And I agree. I have 2 cultures that I have been
keeping for 8 or 9 years and they are distinctly different. One is Carl's
1847, which produces a milder tasting bread, and the other is SDI's San
Francisco culture. That one produces the tangy SF flavor, which I developed
a fondness for when I lived there for many years. But then I've always used
the same flour for feeding (KA's bread flour), and make the bread exactly
the same way with KA bread flour. The breads are very different in taste.

Phil

"Mike Avery" > wrote in message
news:mailman.15.1158079364.7449.rec.food.sourdough @mail.otherwhen.com...
> Jeff Miller commented:
>
>> My understanding has always been that no matter where the culutre came
>> from,
>> within a couple of months, your local microflora will take over in your
>> starter. If that's true, then that would explain why your cultures change
>> their flavor characteristics.
>>
>> Is this true? Or am I repeating a sourdough urban legend here?
> A commonly asked question is, "will my starter change when I move it?"
> with its corollary of, "When I moved from St. Louis to Poughkeepsie, my
> starter changed, what happened?"
>
> There are more old husbands tales surrounding sourdough than almost
> anything else I've been involved with, with the possible exceptions of
> high-end audio and brewing.
>
> Dr. Michael Gaenzle of the German Cereal Institute studies sourdough
> starters and says he has starters that the institute has had for over 50
> years that have not changed in that time.
>
> Somehow, I can still hear someone saying, "Yeah, but my starter doesn't
> taste or work the same as it did before I moved!"