Eventually you just get a foul-smelling spoiled mixture. For a good starter, Dave Brown and Keith Steninkraus at Cornell suggest that one begin with cultured buttermilk or yogurt with active bacterial cultures. Be sure to wash carefully pieces of vegetable such as potato or onion that may be added to an initial starter. Follow the usual recommendations for personal and kitchen cleanliness while preparing starters. But one can get them going again by warming them to room temperature a day or two ahead of use in baking.
Good starters add characteristic flavor and texture to bread products.
With recipes such as the Amish Friendship Bread there are enough other ingredients added that inexperienced bakers might not know whether they have the intended flavor and other effects of a proper starter. Again, practice and experience along with good recipes, will aid in making successful sourdough products. Everyone loves giving or receiving food packages in the mail for the holidays. When it s a non-perishable food item, there s usually little to worry about. It s a two-way street when sending perishable foods through the mail.