Refrigerator Pets

I have four refrigerator pets. They require feeding from time to time, but I'm forgetful, and to tell the truth, I forget I have them. They are on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, near the back wall and out of sight most of the time because other more frequently needed items are placed in front of them.

What are refrigerator pets? You might very well ask....

Refrigerator pets are live sourdough yeasts for making bread. Since the yeasts are alive, they need feeding from time to time. But keeping the yeast chilled slows growth and feedings can be fewer and far between. I could keep them in the freezer which would stop growth until needed, but I choose to keep them chilled on the off chance that some day I want to bake sourdough bread and I won't have to wait for the yeast to warm up and start growing.

Never having made a starter nor having acquired one, I asked a chef friend if he could find a nice starter for me. He came through with flying colors and gave me two. One is called Gold Rush, and is supposed to date from that period. The other is named Italian. I don't know if that name means the starter is from an Italian sourdough bread or if the starter is from an Italian person.

When I received the starters, I had every intention of baking bread, but as I learned how to keep the yeast alive I put the baking off until later. In the meantime the 'pets' were chilled and forgotten.

I remembered them a year later and gave them each a feeding of a ½ cup flour and a ½ cup water and put them back in the fridge. On occasion I looked at the containers and saw that all was well and promptly forgot about them again. A couple of years passed.

This morning I remembered to feed my pets again. I was afraid they had gone to yeast heaven, but they are thriving. After feeding the starters, I recorded the date on the lids and put them back in the fridge.

So far, I have never baked even one loaf of sourdough bread, but I might want to.



Sourdough Starter 1993
(click image to enlarge)