San Francisco Sourdough Starter

kah22

I was at a demonstration last night about sourdough baking and at the end of the demonstration we were offered some San Francisco Sourdough Starter. 

Now the man giving the demonstration said he had this starter for twelve years and kept it alive by feeding it on a regular basis. 

Here's the question - can you really call it a  San Francisco Starter if it has been away from America for at least 12 years?  I would say 'No' that the local microbes would have taken over many, many years ago.

What would you say ?

unforeseen

Should a Chelsea Bun still be called a Chelsea Bun if it has no link whatsoever with the Bun House in Chelsea for nearly 200 years? 

YoungBlueEyes

I would wonder if our microbes were weaker or stronger than SanFran ones..... Maybe the SF ones are more than capable of over-powering our ones...?

-taff

I would say you're thinking about it too much. It's just a name for a particular sourdough. You can name them anything, Patsy, or Kevin for example...

kah22

To be honest guys it is a hypothetical question. The culture can be traced back 150 years and it smells much different than the one I have at the moment
I still wonder if the little microbes floating about my wild garden with all its trees, flowers, veg beds not forgetting the far, far to many weeds I have are more than fit for those little SF microbes.
Anyway who really cares I’m just having a little bit of fun 🤓. Enjoy the day

thriftwizard

Our local sourdough expert (and she is, her bread is wonderful) told me that L. Sanfranciscensis, the bacteria responsible for that fabulous taste, will appear in any good starter than has been continuously fed for more than 14 days, apparently of its own accord, presumably from the other bacteria mutating. When our local baker goes on holiday, he takes his starter with him as it has to be fed every 8 hours - that's dedication!

tastyhog

No, within a week or two of being in this country the makeup of the sourdough will be whatever is locally

As for bakers taking it on holiday, I very much doubt it, it's just a story people like to tell, a starter can be kept in a fridge for literally months unfed and be ripe for use after two feeds