The Potting Shed

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

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Bottle of whole supermarket milk beside fresh homemade cheese, the best milk for cheese making at home

What Milk for Cheese Making? The Truth About Homogenised, UHT and Raw

What milk for cheese making you actually need: whole pasteurised supermarket milk works, why you do not need non homogenised milk, and never using UHT.

Beginner's cheese making kit ingredients for making fresh cheeses without cheese cultures

Cheese Cultures Explained: What They Are and When You Actually Need Them

What cheese cultures are, mesophilic versus thermophilic in plain English, which cheeses need them and which don't, and why beginners start culture-free.

Cheese making equipment for beginners laid out in a home kitchen with pan, cheesecloth and colander

Cheese Making Equipment: What You Actually Need to Start

The honest guide to cheese making equipment: what is already in your kitchen, what a kit supplies, and why you do not need a press or a cheese cave.

Cheeses of the world making kit with homemade mozzarella, paneer and halloumi

The Cheeses of the World Kit: Ten Cheeses from Your Own Kitchen

A tour of all ten cheeses in the Cheeses of the World Kit: where each one calls home, the difficulty ladder from ricotta to chevre and who the kit suits.

Halloumi making kit with slices of homemade halloumi ready for the grill

Halloumi Making Kits: Make Your Own Squeaky Cheese at Home

Why halloumi squeaks, how the kit method works from curds to press to brine, and the mistakes to avoid when you make your own squeaky cheese at home.

Cheese hamper built around a beginner's cheese making kit with chutneys and crackers

Cheese Hampers: How to Build One They'll Remember (Hint: Add a Making Kit)

Why shop-bought cheese hampers disappoint and how to build your own around a cheese making kit, with pairing ideas, packing steps and FAQs.

Fresh homemade mozzarella balls made with a Sandy Leaf Farm mozzarella making kit

Mozzarella Making Kits: Fresh Mozzarella in Under an Hour

How a mozzarella making kit works, the milk rule that decides success, microwave wattage tips, the perfect stretch and what to make next.

Sachet of vegetarian rennet with milk and fresh curds during home cheese making

What Is Rennet? A Cheesemaker's Guide to How Milk Becomes Cheese

What rennet is and what it does, rennet vs citric acid, how to prepare it properly, the clean break test and why milk sometimes refuses to set.

Reusable cheese moulds and cloth set for pressing homemade cheese

Cheese Moulds: What They Do and Which Cheeses Need Them

What cheese moulds do, why shape and drainage matter, which cheeses need pressing and which don't, and how to press cheese at home with a plate and a weight.