How can a sourdough starter be 100 years old?

Question

I keep seeing sourdough starters all over socials. How can sourdough starters be many years old. Don’t you need to use the starter to make the bread? ELI5!

In: Other

Answer 1

Think of the starter like a cow, you occasionally milk a cow to get milk out, but it doesn’t kill the cow.

The starter is the same way, you take a small portion of the starter to put in your bread, but the yeast colony is still alive and growing.