Meals
Cooking meals lets you convert raw ingredients into food which is more enjoyable and/or nutritious. If the cook is decently skilled (4 or better), it can also reduce the chance of food poisoning from eating raw foods, eliminates the negative thought associated with eating some raw foods (meat, grains), and, with the higher level meals, can give a good thought.
Comparison table
| Name | Market Value | Ingredient Count | Nutrients Required | Nutrient Yield | Nutrient Efficiency | Taste | Skill | Work To Make |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple meal |  15
|
1 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 180% | Simple | None | 300 ticks (5 secs) |
| Fine meal | 20
|
2 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 180% | Fine | Cooking 6 | 450 ticks (7.5 secs) |
| Lavish meal | 40
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 100% | Lavish | Cooking 8 | 800 ticks (13.33 secs) |
| Packaged survival meal | 24
|
2 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 150% | Simple | Cooking 8 | 450 ticks (7.5 secs) |
| Carnivore fine meal | 20
|
1 | 0.75 | 0.9 | 120% | Fine | Cooking 6 | 450 ticks (7.5 secs) |
| Carnivore lavish meal | 40
|
1 | 1.25 | 1 | 80% | Lavish | Cooking 8 | 800 ticks (13.33 secs) |
| Vegetarian fine meal | 20
|
1 | 0.75 | 0.9 | 120% | Fine | Cooking 6 | 450 ticks (7.5 secs) |
| Vegetarian lavish meal | 40
|
1 | 1.25 | 1 | 80% | Lavish | Cooking 8 | 800 ticks (13.33 secs) |
| Nutrient paste meal | 10
|
1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 300% | Awful | None | 0 ticks (0 secs) |
| Pemmican | 1.4
|
2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 160% | Simple | None | 700 ticks (11.67 secs) |
| Kibble | 1.1
|
2 | 2 | 2.5 | 125% | Raw | None | 450 ticks (7.5 secs) |
| Chocolate | 3
|
n/a | n/a | 0.1 | n/a | Fine | Planting 8 | n/a |
Baby food 
|
1.25
|
1 | 0.25 | 0.5 | 200% | Terrible | None | 450 ticks (7.5 secs) |
Note that despite its taste being classified as raw, eating Kibble applies a worse mood penalty to humans than eating actual raw food (-12 vs -7).
Descriptions
A delicious preparation of cocoa seeds ground together with sugar and vanilla. Very pleasurable to eat, but not very nutritious.
Chocolate is a food item which provides a small amount of nutrition, filling a colonist's hunger meter by 10% per unit consumed. Unlike most other foods, it also grants a bonus to Recreation of 10% per unit. Contrary to the description, the chocolate requires no further processing and is directly harvested from the cocoa tree.
A synthetic mixture of protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins, amino acids and minerals. Everything the body needs, and absolutely disgusting.
A nutrient paste meal is produced from a nutrient paste dispenser, using raw food ingredients.
A simple meal quickly cooked from a few ingredients.
A simple meal is a meal and the most basic way to prepare raw food for consumption
A bland vegetarian mash. Babies love it, but children and adults will be upset if they're forced to eat it.
Kibble animal feed made from mixed meat and plant sources.
Kibble is a type of food intended for use as animal feed.
A complex dish assembled with care from vegetarian ingredients.
A vegetarian fine meal is a variant of the fine meal created from vegetarian ingredients.
A complex dish assembled with care from meat ingredients.
A carnivore fine meal is a variant of the fine meal created out of meat.
A high-quality packaged meal, manufactured for use in survival situations. While it never rots, it can still deteriorate if left outside. Great for traveling.
Packaged survival meals, sometimes abbreviated as 'PSM', are a high-tech long-lasting food option. They are the colonists' primary food source at the very start of each game (except for a tribal start). They can also be found in cargo pods or cooked (after research) by colonists with a minimum cooking skill of 8. Packaged survival meals restore 0.9 nutrition and do not spoil, meaning they do not require cold storage. Note that they can still deteriorate. They require 0.3 nutrition of vegetarian and 0.3 nutrition of meat or animal product to produce.
A complex dish assembled with care from a wide selection of ingredients.
A fine meal is a higher quality meal that requires both meat and vegetables to create.
A preserved mashed mixture of fat and plant food. Tastes bland, but not offensive. It lasts a very long time without refrigeration. Great for traveling.
A masterpiece of the culinary arts, this meal nourishes the body, mind, and soul.
A Carnivore lavish meal is a variant of the lavish meal created out of meat.
A masterpiece of the culinary arts, this meal nourishes the body, mind, and soul.
A lavish meal is an extravagant meal.
A masterpiece of the culinary arts, this meal nourishes the body, mind, and soul.
A vegetarian lavish meal is a variant of the lavish meal created from vegetarian products.
Version history
- 1.3.3066 - Meals no longer stack when they have "incompatible ingredients".
- 1.3.3387 - Nutrients needed for lavish vegetarian and lavish carnivore meals changed to 1.25 (previously 2.5).
- Meals
- Chocolate • Fine meal (Carnivore, Vegetarian) • Kibble • Lavish meal (Carnivore, Vegetarian) • Nutrient paste meal • Packaged survival meal • Pemmican • Simple meal • Baby food
- Raw food - Animal
- Meat (Human, Insect, Twisted
) • Insect jelly • Milk • Hemogen pack - Raw food - Eggs
- Cassowary egg (fert.) • Chicken egg (fert., unfert.) • Cobra egg (fert.) • Duck egg (fert., unfert.) • Emu egg (fert.) • Goose egg (fert., unfert.) • Iguana egg (fert.) • Ostrich egg (fert.) • Tortoise egg (fert.) • Turkey egg (fert.)
- Raw food - Vegetarian
- Agave fruit • Berries • Corn • Hay • Potatoes • Raw fungus • Rice • Toxipotatoes