Reviewed: May 27, 2012

This worked really well for me. I didn't notice any bubbles in the grape juice, and I had to scrape off a few mold spots a couple of days in the middle. (Occasional stirring would probably have prevented the mold). After that the yeast was strong enough to prevent mold growth and now (about 1 week) it bubbles at the rate I would expect from a mature starter. I'm starting my first bread from this starter today.

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Reviewer:

Lystessa

Reviewed: Nov. 15, 2010

I added 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar & 2 teaspoons sugar to 1 & half cup of the starter to tart it up a bit. Now I have 2 variations of this starter. Both have their own flavor.

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Reviewer:

pauls65

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Puyallup, Washington, USA

Living In: Tacoma, Washington, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2010

So far I'm on day 4 of the 9 day process. I used grapes from my front yard. for the record the white stuff on the grapes is indeed yeast not wax (another reviewer said it wax) They don't put wax on grapes I googled it. Grapes are shipped in wax coated containers to keep moisture out. Anyhoo the grapes in my front yard were covered in yeast. They were fermented on day 2. The day after I added the first cup of flour my mixture was incredibly bubbly and had a wonderful sour smell. I bet I could make bread with it now but I will continue with the 9 day process. I will update in a few days.

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Reviewer:

ladyshadowfox

Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2010

You can make your own yeast out of any fruit. They stated that the white stuff on the grape is yeast. That is really just wax to protect the grape. The yeast is air born. That is why wine makers need to kill any wild strain and then add one that is correct for the grape type and condition.

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Reviewer:

warm oven

Reviewed: Apr. 23, 2010

Thanks very much for your excellent recipe and instruction... I followed your guidance to the letter and 9 days later, I had an amazingly active and resilient Starter. I've used it three times to date in making the Cracked Wheat Sourdough (by Jaclyn) and the results are fantastic... just look at the picture on my page as proof! So thanks again Sharon and keep up the good work!

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survivalchef

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Tampa, Florida, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2010

Well ... I wasn't able to find organic grapes (probably out of season and we live in a very small town) so I was stuck for using what came from the market. They were quite sour to begin with but the real problem was that the skins were just too hard to mash with my hands. So, given no one wanted to eat the grapes, I used my kitchen scissors to cut them up and then mashed really well with my potato masher. Having read the reviews, I noted the issues about mold and so stirred the mash 2-3 times each day with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula and put the mash in a glass bowl. The result was an AMAZING starter even though I probably did everything wrong! I made my first bread without any additional yeast and the only thing worth noting was that it took a very long time to rise (I didn't time it, so the best I can guess is 3-5 hours). Based on another recipe I'm want to try, I'm going to let it rise overnight (I think it was Sourdough I).

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Reviewer:

Bubbe

Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Albany, Oregon, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 6, 2010

I gave this 4 stars because you do not have to go to as much trouble as this recipe leads one to believe. I just by happenstance had some wild grapes already frozen in my freezer. I just took a few of the wild grape skins, maybe 3 of them and put them into the four and water mix. I then put the mix into a warm and dark place and the yeast from the grape skins was obvious and had innoculated the flour mix. No need to do all that crushing of grapes and fermenting in a bowl. At least for me. Just some grape skins in the flour and water and put in a warm place and the yeast will proliferate.

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Reviewer:

Yaupon Holly

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2010

For some reason this molded on the second day. I had such high hopes for it and I think I will try again. I would love to know why this did not work for me, so that i can try it and be successful next time.

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Reviewer:

hmbutterfly

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Platte City, Missouri, USA

Living In: Parkville, Missouri, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2009

I have tried this method twice and both times my grape mash has grown mold before the fermentation process. I don't know what to do, I really want this to work, I'm so disapointed.

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Reviewer:

TiffanyTiffany

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: May 30, 2009

The wild grape starter was much more active for me than store-boughten yeast starter. I dumped my store-boughten yeast starter and use this one exclusively.

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