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 jar of homemade kimchi and small bowls of pickled red onion and cucumber on a rustic wooden table set for Christmas.

Kimchi and quick pickles for the Christmas table

Why sharp fermented cabbage belongs next to rich Christmas food, when to start a batch so it peaks on the day, and four quick pickles to serve alongside it.

Jars of bright red kimchi and bottles of chilli sauce on a wooden table with cabbage, garlic and dried chillies alongside.

Gifts for fermenting fans: kimchi, hot sauce and the live-culture crowd

Jars, weights and scales are the gear that gets used; a kimchi or chilli sauce kit is the project. Plus how to give a live ferment properly.

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 jar of freshly made kimchi beside a bowl of bright red Korean chilli flakes and a halved Chinese leaf cabbage.

How long does a kimchi kit keep? Gochugaru, seaweed and the finished kimchi

The kit keeps 18 months from packing and holds no live culture that can expire. How gochugaru ages, how to store it between batches and how long your kimchi lasts.

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.

A narrow galley kitchen worktop with a jar of infusing botanicals, a bag of kimchi and a small mended bowl holding a tea light.

Gifts for people in small flats: no storage needed, nothing to dust

Presents that borrow space for an evening and give it back: gin, kimchi and kintsugi kits, plus the kits we would avoid for a very small kitchen.

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 jar of freshly made kimchi, a row of chilli sauce bottles and a demijohn of fruit wine on a kitchen worktop.

Vegan Christmas gifts they will actually use: plant-based kits to make at home

Kimchi, chilli sauce and hedgerow wine kits for a plant-based kitchen, what is in each box, what the recipient adds and the one recipe to skip.

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 small bowl of bright red Korean chilli flakes beside garlic, ginger and a chopped Chinese leaf cabbage on a wooden board.

What is gochugaru? The Korean chilli flake that makes kimchi kimchi

What gochugaru is, how it tastes, why paprika and cayenne will not stand in for it, and how the Korean dried red pepper works inside a kimchi paste.

A farmhouse kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon with a bowl of fresh curds draining in a cloth and a bowl of chopped cabbage in chilli paste.

Sunday projects: slow afternoon makes that are ready by teatime

Two projects that fit a real Sunday: fresh cheese in under an hour, and a batch of kimchi that ferments quietly all week. Timings, method and fixes.

Freshly mixed kimchi in a glass jar beside chopped Chinese leaf cabbage, garlic and red chilli powder on a wooden table.

How long to ferment kimchi: from crunchy and fresh to deeply sour

Kimchi ferments in about five to seven days in the fridge, then keeps souring for weeks. What it tastes like at each stage and how to steer it.

A jar of freshly made kimchi with chilli paste and cabbage on a rustic kitchen worktop.

Kimchi not fermenting? Temperature, salt and time explained

How to tell whether kimchi is actually fermenting, what temperature and salt each do, the small things that stall a batch, and how sour to let it get.

Learning how to make kimchi at home with napa cabbage, gochugaru chilli paste and a fermentation bag

How to Make Kimchi at Home: A Beginner's Guide

What kimchi is, how lactic fermentation works, the step-by-step method from cabbage to fermentation bag, what can go wrong and how to know your batch is safe.