The Potting Shed

Guides, gift ideas and honest answers from the people who hand-pack every kit.

All articles Kintsugi Cheese making Gin making Meat Chilli sauce Wine making Kimchi Gift guides

A small open tub of pink curing salt beside a bowl of coarse sea salt on a slate surface.

What is Prague Powder #1 (pink curing salt), and how does it compare to a bacon kit cure?

Prague Powder #1 is a salt and sodium nitrite blend dyed pink so it is not mistaken for table salt, used for short cures such as bacon.

Rashers of dry cured streaky bacon on a wooden board beside a small dish of curing salt.

Can you cure bacon without nitrites? Why our kit uses them and what the alternatives really are

Salt-only cures exist but give a different product, and most shop uncured bacon uses celery nitrate. What our cure contains and why we chose it.

A piece of pork belly coated in dry curing salt resting in a dish on a marble worktop.

Is it safe to cure bacon at home? What the cure does and the rules that keep it safe

Home curing is safe with fresh pork, the full cure, the fridge throughout and proper cooking. What the salt and nitrite do, and how to tell it has worked.

A garage workbench with a slab of curing pork belly on a rack, a jar of botanicals steeping in spirit and a demijohn with an airlock.

Retirement gifts for dad: a hobby in a box for the first free Monday

Retirement gift ideas for dad at three speeds: dry cured bacon in about a week, gin in a couple of days, and country wine over eight to twelve weeks.

Rashers of home dry-cured streaky bacon on a wooden board beside a sharp knife in a farmhouse kitchen.

Christmas morning bacon: cure it in time for the big breakfast

Start about a week ahead and you can serve home dry-cured bacon on Christmas morning. The timeline, the pork to buy, air drying and how to slice it.

Jars of chilli sauce, a jar of kimchi and a slab of home-cured bacon arranged with kraft labels and string on a rustic table.

Homemade food gifts for Christmas: bacon, hot sauce, kimchi and cheese

What to make, when to start it and how to label and transport it, plus the case for giving the kit instead of the jar.

A slab of home dry cured streaky bacon on a wooden board with a few cut rashers and scattered juniper berries and peppercorns.

How long does a bacon curing kit keep, and how long does the bacon last?

The bacon kit keeps 18 months from packing as a dry store item. The bacon you cure is fresh pork: fridge, freezer, and the signs that a batch has turned.

A dry-cured pork belly, a bottle of homemade country wine and strips of biltong laid out on a rustic wooden kitchen table.

Gifts for grandad who says he has everything

Why the everything-grandad is hard to buy for, what actually lands, three making kits that suit him and how to stop the gift sitting in a cupboard.

A wicker hamper packed with food gifts, jars and brown paper parcels on a farmhouse kitchen table.

How to build a homemade Christmas hamper (with things they make themselves)

Build a Christmas hamper around making kits rather than shop-bought jars: which kits to choose, what to add, how to pack it and when to order.

A bacon sandwich on soft white bread cut in half on a wooden board beside a cast iron frying pan.

The perfect bacon sandwich, with bacon you cured yourself

Why dry-cured bacon makes a better sandwich, how thick to slice it, how to cook it properly, and which bread, butter and sauce to use.

A cured pork belly and strips of drying beef on a wire rack in a cool kitchen setting.

Meat curing at home: the food safety basics every beginner should know

Fresh meat, exact cure quantities, constant refrigeration and cooking bacon through. What curing does, where nitrites fit in, and how dried meats differ.

A slab of home-cured streaky bacon part sliced into rashers on a wooden board beside a long carving knife.

How to slice home-cured bacon: thickness, chilling and the right knife

Home-cured bacon slices best cold, firm and with a long sharp knife. Rasher thicknesses explained, plus the freezer trick and how to freeze your slices.

A plain brown parcel tied with string on a kitchen worktop next to a slab of cured pork belly and a small gold-repaired bowl.

Gifts for the person who says they want nothing

They do not want more possessions, so give something that gets used up: bacon curing, cheese making and kintsugi kits, and how to give them without fuss.

A slab of home cured pork belly on a wooden board beside thin cut rashers and a small bowl of curing salt.

Smoked vs unsmoked bacon: what the difference really is

Smoked or unsmoked, streaky or back: what actually separates them, why green bacon is not green, and why dry cured bacon behaves so differently in the pan.

A slab of pork belly coated in dry curing salt and spices resting in a dish on a rustic wooden kitchen table.

How long to cure bacon: a day-by-day guide to dry curing

Dry curing bacon takes about a week. Here is what happens on each day, why the joint changes the timing, and how to tell when the cure is done.

A piece of pork belly being rubbed with dry cure and spices on a wooden board in a farmhouse kitchen.

Curing salt explained: what it does and why bacon needs it

What is actually in a bacon cure, what the salt and the nitrites each do, the two rules you should never bend, and how the cure works step by step at home.

Home cured bacon on a board, showing how to cure bacon at home with a dry cure

How to Cure Bacon at Home: A Simple Dry-Cure Guide

How to cure bacon at home with a simple dry cure: what curing is, dry cure vs brine, the honest nitrite answer, a step-by-step method and fixes.

Bacon curing kit with dry cure, three seasoning sachets and sliced home-cured streaky bacon on a board

Bacon Curing Kits: How to Cure Your Own Bacon at Home

Why dry cure beats supermarket bacon, what's in a bacon curing kit, buying the right pork, the full week-long process and the nitrite question answered.