Sourdough and starters

[saltfish]

My first attempt at sourdough - mixed wholewheat and white with a little rye - I began my starter about 3 weeks ago with kefir, peel from fallen apples and rye

 

[MentalSharps]

School of hard knocks approach seemed to work well for me. Before we lived together, my partner and I had our own sourdough starters... she is pretty knowledgeable on baking... I can barely cook anything. After hers was established for a while she forgot to feed it and it went kaput. Mine survived when hers didn't... I definitely didn't do everything "correctly" from the start. Pretty sure I didn't do ANYthing correctly. Feel like it was starving since birth.

Recently she went back away for over 3 weeks during the Summer and I forgot to feed it... no probs at all! Tough as nails this guy..

 

[robj20]

Mine goes weeks and weeks with no feeds on the fridge always bounces back.

 

[jpaul]

I should freeze a sample to protect against accidents with mother.

Do some strains smell more of that classic sourdough tang ... so I wonder if I should re-initilialize,
leastaways the sourdough I picked up, for toasting, at waitrose, had a stronger flavour, although maybe it is artificially enhanced ?