With players needing to keep track of both their health meter and energy meter in Stardew Valley, cooked food can be game-changing. Unlike many other raw foods, many of the cooked recipes provide nearly enough health and energy to completely fill players’ meters back up.
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Before players can actively create these helpful items, they will need three things. These are ingredients, recipes, and a place to cook. Here is how to acquire all of these things in Stardew Valley.
Updated June 10th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: Stardew Valley will forever live on as one of the greatest Indie adventures ever made, even as players eventually begin their quests to conquer the Haunted Chocolatier. But there is still a ton to see and do for players that have only scratched the surface of the expansive Indie experience. Thankfully, players can craft an abundance of food items to help them progress through some of the more taxing parts of the game, giving them the energy, health, and buffs they will need to take on any challenge. To better showcase some of the best foodstuff in the game, the following list has been updated and includes even more of the best recipes in Stardew Valley.
The first thing that players will need to cook in Stardew Valley is a place to do it. There are two different places with the first place that the majority of players will have access to being in their farmhouse. In order to cook at home, players will need to upgrade their house for the first time.
Players can upgrade their Stardew Valley farmhouse by talking to Robin while her shop is open in her home. The first upgrade will cost the player 10,000g and 450 pieces of wood. Once it is completed, players will have access to their own kitchen.
Inside the players’ kitchen, there will be a stove and a fridge. The fridge functions as a chest that can hold food items as well as serve a special function while players cook. This includes fruits, vegetables, animal products, and fish caught in Stardew Valley. By using the stove, players will get a special crafting menu with all of the cooking recipes they’ve learned. If they have the needed ingredients for the recipe in their inventory or in the fridge, they will be able to craft it.
Another place players can cook is anywhere as long as they use a cookout kit. It can be crafted using fifteen pieces of wood, ten pieces of fiber, and three chunks of coal after players reach Foraging level nine. When placed, it will serve as a substitute for the player’s stove without access to the fridge and will disappear after the day ends. Players will still have access to all of their cooking recipes.
Players will automatically start with a recipe for a fried egg, which requires only one chicken egg. More recipes can be bought from stores, learned from the Queen of Sauce on TV, and given by friends from Pelican Town. Many of these recipes also have added effects after players eat them that help with farming, combat, and many other actions.
Useful Recipes In Stardew Valley
There are a wide array of recipes for characters to cook in Stardew Valley. With 80 dishes to create, it can be a bit overwhelming for those that are just starting out their journey as a would-be chef. Although there is an achievement for cooking every recipe in the game (Gourmet Chef), it will take players quite some time (and a ton of ingredients) to get it all done. For this reason, unless players are chasing the achievement, it’s not practical to cook everything under the sun.
Although some recipes are simply there to restore health, other foods provide players with hefty buffs that can be incredibly useful in particular situations. Here’s a look at some of the best buffs that players can snag from cooking in Stardew Valley.
Roots Platter - This recipe is unlocked when players reach Combat Level 3 and is relatively easy to make. It takes 1 x Cave Carrot and 1 x Winter Root. It will replenish 135 Energy and 60 Health. It also provides an Attack + 3 buff for 5 minutes and 35 seconds. Players need to reach Combat Level 3 to use this recipe. Maple Bar - Getting the Maple Bar recipe is a bit harder as it will show up randomly by watching the Queen of Sauce television program that teaches players new recipes during Year 2 Summer 14. Those that have it can create a Maple Bar with 1 x Wheat Flour, 1 x Maple Syrup, and 1 x Sugar. The recipe will refill 225 Energy and 101 Health. The best part is that it provides a +1 buff to Farming, Fishing, and Mining that lasts a whopping 16 minutes and 47 seconds. Pumpkin Soup - To learn how to make Pumpkin Soup, players need to get their relationship hearts with Robin to seven. Once there, she will send the recipe in the mail. It’s simple to make, requiring just 1 x Pumpkin and 1 x Milk. It refills a hefty 200 Energy and 90 Health. It will also buff the player’s Defense and Luck by 2 for 7 minutes and 41 seconds. Once players manage to unlock the seventh heart from Robin, she will send this recipe in the mail. Seafoam Pudding - Seafoam Pudding can be cooked after players reach Fishing Level 9. It takes 1 x Flouder, 1 x Midnight Carp, and 1 x Squid Ink to make and will restore 175 Energy and 78 Health. Best of all, it boosts Fishing by a whopping 4 for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Players need to reach Fishing Level 9 to cook this. Tom Kha Soup - Those who do a lot of farming will want to get the Tom Kha Soup recipe by filling Sandy’s relationship hearts to 7. It takes 1 x Coconut, 1 x Shrimp, and 1 x Common Mushroom. It’ll fill 175 Energy and 78 Health and will boost farming by 2. It even gives an additional 50 energy, all of which lasts for 7 minutes. Once players know Sandy well enough to unlock the seventh heart with her, she will send the recipe in the mail. Fruit Salad - Sometimes, players are simply looking for an energy boost, and Fruit Salad is one of the best ways to replenish that energy. It’s relatively easy to make and only requires players to combine 1 x Blueberry, 1 x Melon, and 1 x Apricot. Doing so will reward them with a hefty 263 replenishment to their energy and a sizable 118 health. To get the recipe, players will need to wait to spot it on TV, catching The Queen of Sauce during Year 2, Fall 7. Red Plate - Another hefty energy-filling dish is Red Plate, which can be made by simply tossing together 1 x Red Cabbage and 1 x Radish. Gobbling this small meal down will give players 240 energy and 108 Health. It even has the added benefit of applying an additional energy buff, giving players access to +50 energy for approximately 3 minutes and 30 seconds. This recipe is learned by building a strong relationship with Emily and will come in the mail once players have achieved 7 hearts with her. Squid Ink Ravioli - Those that spend a ton of time down in the mines and dungeons will want to get access to Squid Ink Ravioli as soon as possible. It’s one of the best dishes as it provides a buff to mining and even has its own special buff which will make players immune to any debuffs while active. Players can piece together this recipe with 1 x Squid Ink, 1 x Tomato, and 1 x Flour. It refills 125 energy and 56 health. The immunity to debuffs will last for 2 minutes and 59 seconds and players will get an additional +1 to their Mining for 4 minutes and 39 seconds. Super Meal - Players that spend a ton of time running around from crop to crop or exploring the far reaches of Stardew Valley could greatly benefit from the Super Meal. It refills 160 energy and 72 health but also gives players a Max Energy +40 and a +1 Speed buff that lasts 3 minutes and 30 seconds. To gain access to this recipe, players will need to spend a lot of time with Kent. After Kent has sufficiently warmed up to players and they’ve gotten his relationship hearts to +7, he’ll send the recipe in the mail.
What Does Qi Seasoning Do?
Those that want to get the most out of their cooking will definitely want to get their hands on Qi Seasoning. The handy enhancer can be purchased from Qi’s Walnut Room for 10 Qi Gems (there are 10 bits of seasoning per purchase). This handy stuff will turn any recipe into a Gold version of itself, greatly increasing its effectiveness. The sale price will increase by 50 percent, while the health and energy benefits go up by a massive 80 percent. But that’s not all, Qi Seasoning will also increase all attributes on a given buff by one. For example, the buff from Roots Platter would increase Attack by 4 instead of 3 if a Qi Seasoning was used.
Qi Seasoning is also used automatically if stored correctly and will alert players when it’s all used up.
Stardew Valley is available now on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One.
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