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

Several small bottles of homemade chilli sauce on a rustic wooden table beside a plate of fried eggs and toast.

What to eat with homemade hot sauce: 15 ideas beyond tacos

Fifteen things to put homemade hot sauce on, which of the seven kit sauces suits which food, and how to cook with it instead of just pouring it.

Strips of homemade beef jerky and a bottle of spiced rum on a wooden table with a bonfire burning in the background.

Bonfire night food and drink: spiced rum, hot sauce and homemade jerky

Bonfire night food should be one-handed and made in advance. Homemade jerky, a bottle of spiced rum and a timing plan that has it all ready by the fifth.

A glass jar of bright red homemade kimchi beside brined Chinese leaf cabbage and a bowl of chilli paste on a wooden worktop.

Kimchi too salty or too bland? Fixing the seasoning

Salty kimchi usually means the cabbage was under-rinsed; bland kimchi usually needs more paste or more time. How to rescue a batch and get the next one right.

Strips of dark homemade biltong in an open glass storage jar on a wooden board with coriander seeds and cracked black pepper.

How to store biltong: keeping it dry, safe and chewy

Airtight, cool and properly dry: how to store homemade biltong so it keeps for a fortnight, how to tell when it is dry enough, and what to do if it goes damp.

Slices of freshly made halloumi draining in cheesecloth beside a pressed block on a wooden board in a farmhouse kitchen.

Halloumi troubleshooting: crumbly, rubbery or will not grill

Rubbery, crumbly or collapsing halloumi? The three usual culprits are too much acid, too much heat and not enough press. How to diagnose and fix each one.

A bottle of deep red homemade sriracha-style chilli sauce beside whole garlic cloves and dried chillies on a wooden board.

Sriracha-style sauce at home: garlic, chilli and a little patience

How to make a smooth, garlicky sriracha-style chilli sauce at home: choosing chillies, getting the texture right, taming the salt and bottling it so it keeps.

Three small bowls of kebab sauces, white garlic, red chilli and mint yoghurt, beside sliced doner meat and flatbread.

Kebab sauces at home: garlic, chilli and the takeaway trio

The three sauces that make a kebab taste like a kebab: white garlic, sharp red chilli and mint yoghurt, with the method for each and how to build the plate.

A bowl of orange kimchi fried rice topped with a fried egg and sliced spring onion on a wooden table.

Kimchi fried rice: the best thing to do with a jar that has gone sour

Sour kimchi makes the best fried rice. Why frying mellows the acidity, what you need, the ten-minute method, and the other rescues for an over-fermented jar.

A small wrapped gift box and a handmade child's card on a desk beside a bottle of homemade gin and a jar of chilli sauce.

Christmas gifts for teachers and TAs that are not another mug

Gift ideas for teachers and teaching assistants that get used up: gin, cheese making and chilli sauce kits, including one that works as a group gift.

Several bottles of homemade chilli sauce with handwritten kraft tags lined up on a wooden kitchen shelf.

How long does homemade hot sauce last? Storage and shelf life

What actually preserves a hot sauce, how long each style keeps, how to bottle and label it properly, and the signs that mean a bottle should go in the bin.

A bowl of fresh homemade ricotta and a dish of mascarpone on a wooden table beside a cloth-lined sieve.

Mascarpone and ricotta at home: the two easiest cheeses there are

Ricotta and mascarpone need no ageing and barely any kit. How both come together, the milk rule that decides everything, and what to do when they misbehave.

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.

An empty kitchen worktop with a single plain kit box, a bottle of homemade gin and a few rashers of bacon on a board.

Gifts for people who hate clutter: consumable, finishable, gone by February

Presents that get used up rather than stored: gin, bacon curing and cheese making kits, how quickly each is finished and what to add to them.

Two pairs of hands stretching fresh mozzarella over a bowl on a farmhouse kitchen table, with a jar of infusing gin nearby.

Kitchen date night ideas: cook, make and ferment together

Date night ideas for two in a normal kitchen: fresh cheese in an hour, a bottle of gin started together, and how to keep it feeling like a date.

Cracked coriander seed, black pepper and salt in small bowls beside strips of spiced beef drying on a rack.

The biltong spice blend: coriander, vinegar and the South African method

What goes into a biltong spice blend, why coriander and vinegar matter so much, and how to season and dry a batch of lean beef properly.

A glass jar of bright red homemade vegan kimchi beside a chopping board of napa cabbage, garlic and spring onions.

Vegan kimchi: making it without fish sauce or shrimp paste

How to make kimchi with no fish sauce or salted shrimp, why seaweed carries the savoury depth instead, and the five steps from brine to jar.

A perforated cheese mould lined with cloth, filled with fresh curds and pressed under a weight on a wooden board.

How to use cheese moulds: pressing, draining and turning out

Lining, filling, pressing and turning out cheese moulds, which cheeses need one, how much weight to use and how to keep the moulds in good order.

Thin strips of seasoned beef jerky cooling on a wire rack beside a chopping board and a sharp knife.

Jerky without a dehydrator: the oven method that works

How to make beef jerky in an ordinary oven: slicing, seasoning, the tea towel door trick, how to tell when it is done and how to store it.

Small glass bottles of homemade red chilli sauce with kraft labels and string, waiting to be filled on a wooden table.

How to bottle hot sauce so it keeps: sterilising, filling and labelling

Sterilising, hot filling, sealing and labelling homemade hot sauce, which bottles to use, and how long a bottled batch really keeps.

Dried chillies of several varieties laid out in rows on a wooden board beside a small bowl of chilli flakes.

Chilli varieties for hot sauce: from jalapeno to habanero, which to use

What each chilli variety brings to a hot sauce, from grassy green and smoky chipotle to fiery piri piri and tropical habanero, plus how to blend them.