One of the by-products of the bacterial action in a starter is lactic acid and, depending on the concentration of that relative to other products you can get a noticeable sour milk odour. So, as long as your culture is active and doesn't look and smell ugly, everything should be fine. You might find that the smell changes in a day or so and becomes more neutral and stable. This variability often happens in the early stages of starter establishment and why methods often specify a need to keep on with the development for 10 to 14 days to allow a really stable biome to develop.
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Hello Adriann,
One of the by-products of the bacterial action in a starter is lactic acid and, depending on the concentration of that relative to other products you can get a noticeable sour milk odour. So, as long as your culture is active and doesn't look and smell ugly, everything should be fine. You might find that the smell changes in a day or so and becomes more neutral and stable. This variability often happens in the early stages of starter establishment and why methods often specify a need to keep on with the development for 10 to 14 days to allow a really stable biome to develop.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam