Cooking

Cooking covers the kitchen tools that turn raw ingredients into meals. The group holds the Cooking Pot, the Kettle, the Roasting Pan, the Baking Tray, bowls, cups and utensils. It also holds openers such as the Can Opener and the Corkscrew. Most recipes keep these tools rather than use them up. Cooked meals feed better and taste better than raw food. The Chef is the best occupation for cooking. It starts with the most Cooking skill. The Burger Flipper also starts with some Cooking skill.

All Food and Drinks Categories

Best Cooking

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Lightest	P38 Can Opener		0.05 weight	/additem Base.P38
Heaviest	Pack of Beer Bottles		1.8 weight	/additem Base.BeerPack

Mechanics

The game's guide explains the basics. Put food into an oven, a microwave, a BBQ or another appliance. Then turn it on to start cooking. Turn the oven off afterwards, unless a fire extinguisher is close at hand.

Food in a cooking container goes through three stages. The tooltip shows Uncooked, then Cooked, then Burnt if the food stays in too long. A Steak needs 50 minutes to cook. A Fish Fillet needs 20 minutes. A Turkey (Whole) needs 30 minutes.

Cooked food is better than raw food. A cooked food lowers hunger by 1.3 times its raw value. Some raw items carry the warning "Dangerous uncooked." Others say "Can cause illness or nausea if eaten uncooked." Some cooked items say "Better hot."

Some dishes are built one ingredient at a time. A base item, such as a pot of soup or a sandwich, takes extra ingredients from its context menu. A Cooking Pot takes up to 6 ingredients for Soup or Stew. A Roasting Pan takes up to 6 for a Roast. A Frying Pan takes up to 4 for a Stir Fry, and a Mug takes up to 3 for a Hot Drink.

Food Preparation

Most meals start in a container. The guide says to prepare food recipes through the Crafting menu. The context menu on a Bowl, a Roasting Pan or a Saucepan works too. Some recipes need the container filled with water first.

Put Pasta in Cooking Pot and Put Rice in Cooking Pot fill a pot for boiling. Put Pasta in Saucepan and Put Rice in Saucepan do the same with a Saucepan. Divide Food into 4 Bowls splits a finished pot into four servings. Pour Bowl of Oatmeal and Pour Bowl of Cereal make a quick breakfast.

Baking needs trays and pans. Prepare Bread Dough uses flour, Salt, Yeast and water in a Bowl, with a Rolling Pin and a mixing utensil. Prepare Cake pours Cake Batter into a Baking Pan. Prepare Muffins fills a Muffin Tray. Prepare Chocolate Cookies fills a Baking Tray. Get 6 Cookies takes the finished cookies off the tray.

Tools and Utensils

Openers unlock sealed food. Open Canned Food needs any can opener. The Can Opener and the P38 Can Opener both count. The guide adds that a blade also opens a can. Open Bottle of Wine needs a Corkscrew. The Bottle Opener and the Key Ring Bottle Opener open beer.

Mixing utensils stir batter and dough. The Whisk, the Spatula, the Wooden Spoon, the Plastic Spoon and the Plastic Fork all count as mixing utensils. Make Cake Batter needs one, plus a Bowl, flour, a baking fat, sugar, eggs, Yeast and Cow's Milk.

Pots and pans hold the food. The Cooking Pot weighs 1. The Roasting Pan weighs 1.3. The Kettle and the Copper Kettle go on the stove too. The Metal Cup, the Copper Cup, the Gold Cup and the Silver Cup also work as a coffee maker.

Other tools have one job. The Cheese Grater counts as a grater in recipes. The Pizza Cutter slices pizza. The Rolling Pin rolls dough. Kitchen Tongs work as crude tongs at a forge, but they break if used for Blacksmithing crafts.

Skill and Recipes

The Cooking skill governs every meal. Its in-game text says it allows the creation of more nutritious and delicious food. A higher level makes each ingredient go further. From Cooking 7, rotten ingredients can go into a dish.

Many baking recipes must be learned. The Chef occupation starts with Cooking 4 and knows all of them. The Burger Flipper starts with Cooking 2. The Keen Cook trait adds Cooking 2 and Butchering 1 and teaches the main baking recipes. Cooking magazines and cooking TV shows teach recipes too.

Some recipes are known from the start. Prepare Pancakes needs Pancake Mix, water, a Bowl and a mixing utensil. Prepare Omelette needs two eggs, a Frying Pan and a mixing utensil. Make Cake Batter, Prepare Pie Dough and Prepare Bread Dough each give 10 Cooking XP.

Crafting

Smithing makes metal cookware. Forge Roasting Pan, Forge Baking Pan and Forge Baking Tray each need Blacksmithing 2. Forge Frying Pan needs Blacksmithing 2 as well. Forge Cooking Pot, Forge Saucepan, Forge Kettle and Forge Cup each need Blacksmithing 3. Forge Jar Lids makes 5 Jar Lid at Blacksmithing 5.

Pottery makes clay dishes. Sculpt Bowl, Sculpt Plate, Sculpt Mug and Sculpt Clay Pot shape wet clay on a Pottery Wheel. Fire Clay Bowl and the other firing recipes finish them in a kiln. Make Glass Jar needs Glassmaking 5.

Workstations process raw crops. The Stone Quern and the Stone Mill grind grain into Flour, Cornmeal and Cornflour. The Butter Churn turns milk into Butter. The Coffee Machine brews coffee, and the Toaster makes Toast. Drying racks dry herbs and grain.

Locations

Kitchens hold most cooking tools. Kitchen pot drawers hold the Cooking Pot, the Kettle, the Baking Tray and the Can Opener. Dish cabinets hold bowls. Restaurant kitchens, diners and bakeries hold large stocks of trays and pans.

Store shelves sell new cookware. Gigamart housewares and kitchen aisles carry pots, bowls and roasting pans. Canning crates and homesteads hold the Jar and the Box of Jars. The P38 Can Opener comes from army surplus stores, camping crates and survival gear. Gift shops and kitchen drawers hold the Corkscrew.

Notes

• Keep a Can Opener in the main bag, since sealed cans keep indefinitely.
• Make Jar of Preserved Food needs a Jar, a Jar Lid, vinegar, Salt and water.

All Cooking