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

Bright red chillies fermenting in a brine-filled glass jar next to bottles of finished hot sauce on a rustic wooden table.

Fermented hot sauce explained: why fermenting changes the flavour

What fermenting does to chillies, why lactic acid tastes so different from vinegar, and how fermented sauces compare with quick blended ones.

Freshly picked red and green chillies beside bottles of homemade hot sauce on a rustic wooden table.

From plant to bottle: turning your chilli harvest into hot sauce

When to pick chillies, how to dry or freeze a glut, the simple structure behind every hot sauce, and how to control the heat and bottle it properly.

The Scoville scale from mild to superhot, ranking how hot chilli peppers are

The Scoville Scale Explained: How Chilli Heat Is Measured

What the Scoville scale is, where it came from, how chilli heat is measured in Scoville units, and a mild to superhot ladder of the peppers you know.

Learning how to make hot sauce at home with dried chillies, bottles and the Chilli Sauce Making Kit

How to Make Hot Sauce at Home: A Beginner's Guide

What hot sauce is made of, the step-by-step method from dried chillies to bottled sauce, how to control the heat, common mistakes and how to store a batch.

Chilli sauce gift set alternative: a chilli sauce making kit with dried chillies, bottles and kraft labels

Chilli Sauce Gift Sets: Why a Making Kit Beats Another Box of Bottles

Why a making kit beats the usual chilli sauce gift set: seven homemade sauces at their own heat level, with labels and bragging rights on every bottle.