Cooking

Cooking
Release	Penitent Scholar (v0.346)
Date	23 June 2016

Cooking is a Survival Skill that is used to cook some Food and Drink. Cooking offers several benefits, including increasing the condition of raw food and reducing the risk of Food Poisoning. There are many different types of food in The Long Dark, each providing a certain number of calories. Cooking also has a larger variety of training options compared to any other skill, due to the number of food types that can be cooked.

How to cook

old menu

Cooking is one of the easiest skills to train in The Long Dark, as players can increase their skill by cooking any food or drink item. Players also encounter a variety of food items that can be cooked throughout a play-through, providing many opportunities to gain cooking experience.

Players can cook food and drinks on any Fire in the designated cooking slot. There is no difference between cooking over a Campfire and contained fire.

Players select the food item or cooking container from the radial menu or inventory and place it next to the fire in a designated cooking space. When using a cooking tool, the player can "use" the placed can or pot to select which food or drink to cook.

Equipment

Players need a Fire before they can start cooking, and certain pieces of equipment can be used to assist with cooking.

Image	Equipment	Benefit
	Fire	Used to cook any canned food and meat. Includes player-made campfires and contained fires made in existing fireboxes.
	Recycled Can	Used to cook canned foods. Can melt and boil up to 0.5 liters of water at a time.
	Cooking Pot	Used to cook Cooking Pot Recipes Used to cook canned foods and meat. Can melt and boil up to 2.0 liters of water at a time Cooking times reduced by 20% Food takes 50% longer to burn
	Cooking Skillet	Used to cook Skillet Recipes Used to cook canned foods and meat. Can melt and boil up to 1.0 liters of water at a time Cooking times reduced by 20% Food takes 50% longer to burn

Firebox cooking slots

Placing teas and canned goods near an active fire will warm/cook them, without sacrificing a cooking slot.

Different fireplaces provide different amounts of cooking slots, allowing for more or less efficient usage of fuel/places to cook food and water. It's important to note that canned goods and drinks can be placed in the direct vicinity of a fire and can be heated/cooked without sacrificing a cooking slot.

Types of food

Meat

Players can obtain raw meat from Harvesting Rabbit, Ptarmigan, Wolf/Timberwolf, Deer, Bear, and Moose carcasses. See the Energy density column below to maximize use of your weight.

Image	Name	Cooking time (min/kg)	Energy density (kcal/kg)	Notes
	Rabbit (Cooked)	38	450 kg (990 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw rabbit meat harvested from a Rabbit Carcass
	Venison (Cooked)	57	800 kg (1760 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw venison harvested from a Deer carcass
	Wolf Meat (Cooked)	69	700 kg (1540 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw wolf meat harvested from a Wolf or Timberwolf carcass
	Bear Meat (Cooked)	82	900 kg (1980 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw black bear meat harvested from a black Bear carcass
	Moose Meat (Cooked)	82	900 kg (1980 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw moose meat harvested from a Moose carcass
	Ptarmigan (Cooked)	38	450 kg (990 lb)	Obtained by cooking ptarmigan meat harvested from a Ptarmigan Carcass.
	Cougar Meat (Cooked)		600 kg (1320 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw cougar meat harvested from a Cougar carcass

Fish

Players can obtain raw fish from sufficiently deep bodies of Salt or Fresh water by Ice Fishing. Cooking fish also produces a small amount of Lantern Fuel. See the Energy density column below to maximize use of your weight.

Image	Name	Cooking time (min/kg)	Energy density	Notes
	Lake Whitefish (Cooked)	21	383.33 kg (843.326 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Lake Whitefish fished from a freshwater location.
	Rainbow Trout (Cooked)	19	383.33 kg (843.326 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Rainbow Trout fished from a saltwater location.
	Coho Salmon (Cooked)	12	445.95 kg (981.09 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Coho Salmon fished from a saltwater location.
	Smallmouth Bass (Cooked)	15	454.55 kg (1000.01 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Smallmouth Bass fished from a freshwater location.
	Burbot (Cooked)	12	487.71 kg (1072.962 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Burbot fished from a freshwater location.
	Rockfish (Cooked)	11	449.31 kg (988.482 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Rockfish fished from a saltwater location.
	Red Irish Lord (Cooked)	16	451.32 kg (992.904 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Red Irish Lord fished from a saltwater location.
	Goldeye (Cooked)	17	452.24 kg (994.928 lb)	Obtained by cooking raw Goldeye fished from a freshwater location.

Canned

Players can obtain canned goods by scavenging throughout their playthrough. Canned goods requires a Can Opener, Hunting Knife, or Hatchet to be opened to retain the full contents. If the player does not have any of these tools, they can also smash the can open, but this results in losing between 10% and 30% of the contents to spillage if the player's Cooking level is less than 3. Smashing cans will not yield a Recycled Can once the contents are eaten, regardless of skill level. The cooking time for canned goods is 15 minutes when cooked directly on a Fire, but is 24 when placed next to one. Any canned foods not listed here cannot be cooked.

Image	Name	Energy density	Notes
	Canned Corn	1475 kcal / kg (670 kcal / lb)	Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.
	Pinnacle Peaches	900 kcal / kg (409 kcal / lb)	Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.
	Tomato Soup	1200 kcal / kg (545 kcal / lb)	Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.
	Pork and Beans	2400 kcal / kg (1,091 kcal / lb)	Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.

Drinks

Players can obtain hot drinks from brewing a Tin of Coffee, Herbal Tea, or prepared plants found across the island with 0.25 liters of potable water. Drinks cooked in a Recycled Can directly on a Fire take 12 minutes to cook; reheating takes 33% less time (8 minutes in a recycled can); they may also be cooked in a Cooking Pot. Each drink weighs 0.1 kg and has 100 kcal and, when consumed Hot, provides a Warming Up bonus to the player.

Image	Name	Bonus/Affliction	Ingredient (+0.25L water)	Ingredient weight	Materials weight
	Birch Bark Tea	Bonus Restore Condition	Prepared Birch Bark	0.05 kg (0.11 lb)	0.10 kg (0.22 lb)
	Burdock Tea	Afflictions cured by Antibiotics	Prepared Burdock	0.15 kg (0.33 lb)	N/A
	Cup of Acorn Coffee	Bonus Fatigue Reduced	Acorn Grounds	0.20 kg (0.44 lb)	N/A
	Cup of Coffee	Bonus Fatigue Reduced	Tin of Coffee	0.01 kg (0.022 lb)	N/A
	Cup of Herbal Tea	Bonus Improved Rest	Herbal Tea	0.01 kg (0.022 lb)	N/A
	Reishi Tea	Afflictions cured by Antibiotics	Prepared Reishi Mushrooms	0.05 kg (0.11 lb)	0.10 kg (0.22 lb)
	Rose Hip Tea	Afflictions cured by Painkillers	Prepared Rose Hips	0.05 kg (0.11 lb)	0.24 kg (0.528 lb)

Edible Prepared Plants

Some plants can be cooked and eaten as is. Acorns are a unique food that can be found near Oak Trees and must be shelled before cooking. Potatoes can be used in recipes or cooked.

Image	Name	Energy density	Ingredient (+0.25L water)	Ingredient weight	Materials weight
	Acorns (Cooked)	80 kcal	Prepared Acorns	0.05 kg (0.11 lb)	N/A
	Acorns (Cooked - Large Portion)	400 kcal	Prepared Acorns (Large Portion)	0.20 kg (0.44 lb)	N/A
	Cooked Potato	250 kcal	Potato	0.20 kg (0.44 lb)	0.15 kg (0.33 lb)

Frontier Cooking Recipes

DLC-Exclusive content. This content requires the Tales from the Far Territory addon to be installed before it can be seen or used in regular gameplay.

“

Recipes and new ingredients open a range of possibilities for food preparations that can offer different gameplay effects. Official marketing description

”

Enhanced Cooking Recipes were added in the Part 3: Frontier Comforts update, available for players who purchase the Tales from the Far Territory Expansion. Cooking Recipes are different from normal cooking, as they require multiples ingredients to be combined and tend to take longer hours to prepare than normal foodstuffs, but can be worth the effort to create as they can provide unique benefits that can increase/decrease Afflictions. Some recipes require the player to reach a certain cooking skill level before they can be made by the player. Cookable Recipes can be viewed in a unique submenu labeled Recipe Book (Cooking Pot Icon).

There are currently 24 recipes in total, separated into 3 categories via container used to prepare them that can be found in the Cooking Recipes menu of the Survival Menu. 15 base Recipes are available from the start while 9 Unique Recipes can be found on Recipe Cards by the player as they explore the island, and these can be tracked in the Collectibles menu of the Journal. Calorie density increases while cooking times decrease as the player levels their Cooking Skill, just like with regular foods.

Many recipes require the player to "prepare" the ingredients before they are placed in a container. Keep in mind that once the player commits to cooking a recipe in a container, 11-20 minutes always passes (a time accelerate message "preparing" appears, with chopping, etc sounds. This can be canceled at any time) before said item appears in the container and starts cooking (time resumes normally again). This is different from cooking other foods, as the player simply places them in a container and they immediately begin cooking.

Ingredients

Ingredients are used solely for recipes and most cannot be consumed on their own (except for Carrots). You can find these foodstuffs in the regular places you might expect across the island.

Image	Name	Weight
	Carrot	0.10 kg
	Cooking Oil	0.05 kg
	Old Mill Flour	1.50 kg
	Potato	0.20 kg
	Running River Oats	0.80 kg
	Salt	0.25 kg

Cooking Pot Recipes

6 Recipes require a Cooking Pot to be used, and are available to survivors from the start.

Image	Recipe Name	Ingredients	Calorie Density	Additional Effect	Weight	Cooking Times
	Broth (4)	1 kg Ptarmigan (Raw) 1.50 L Water (potable) 0.01 kg Salt	170 Calories 5 Hydration	None	0.8 kg	56 min
	Porridge	0.50 L Water (potable) 0.10 kg Running River Oats	350 Calories	None	0.20 kg	20 min
	Ptarmigan Stew	0.50 kg Ptarmigan (Raw) 0.05 kg Old Mill Flour 1 Broth	750 Calories 3 Hydration	Improves Rest (3 hours) Increases Fatigue (15%)	0.35 kg	1 hr 52 min
	Rabbit Stew	0.50 kg Rabbit (Raw) 0.05 kg Old Mill Flour 1 Broth	750 Calories 3 Hydration	Improves Rest (3 hours) Increases Fatigue (15%)	0.35 kg	1 hr 52 min
	Trout Stew	0.50 kg Rainbow Trout (Raw) 0.05 kg Old Mill Flour 1 Broth	750 Calories 3 Hydration	Improves Rest (3 hours) Increases Fatigue (15%)	0.35 kg	1 hr 52 min
	Venison Stew	0.50 kg Venison (Raw) 0.05 kg Old Mill Flour 1 Broth	900 Calories 3 Hydration	Improves Rest (3 hours) Increases Fatigue (15%)	0.35 kg	1 hr 52 min

Cooking Skillet Recipes

These Recipes require a Cooking Skillet and the player to be at Cooking Skill Level 2 or 3.

Image	Recipe Name	Ingredients	Calorie Density	Additional Effect	Weight	Cooking Times	Cooking Level
	Acorn Bannock (2)	1 Acorn Grounds 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 Water (potable)	250 Calories -3 Hydration	None	0.10 kg	40 min	2
	Acorn Pancakes	1 Acorn Grounds 0.05 kg Maple Syrup 1 Cooking Oil 0.10 Water (potable)	750 Calories -3 Hydration	None	0.10 kg	12 min	2
	Bannock (2)	1 Cooking Oil 0.15 Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	200 Calories -3 Hydration	None	0.10 kg	40 min	2
	Pancakes	0.05 kg Maple Syrup 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 L Water (potable) 0.12 kg Old Mill Flour	500 Calories -3 Hydration	None	0.10 kg	12 min	2
	Peach Pie (3)	1 Pinnacle Peaches 1 Cooking Oil 0.10 Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	250 Calories	Decrease Fatigue (15%) Increase Headache (1 hour)	0.30 kg	1 hr 20 min	3
	Ptarmigan Pie (3)	0.50 kg Ptarmigan (raw) 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	250 Calories 6 Hydration	Increase Max Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours)	0.30 kg	1 hr 20 min	3
	Rabbit Pie (3)	0.50 kg Rabbit (raw) 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	250 Calories 6 Hydration	Increase Max Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours)	0.30 kg	1 hr 20 min	3
	Rose Hip Pie (3)	8 Rose Hips 1 Cooking Oil 0.10 Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	225 Calories 10 Hydration	Decrease Fatigue (15%) Increase Headache (1 hour)	0.30 kg	1 hr 20 min	3
	Venison Pie (3)	0.50 kg Venison (Raw) 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 L Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	325 Calories 6 Hydration	Increase Max Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours)	0.30 kg	1 hr 20 min	3

Recycled Can Recipes

These Recipes require a Recycled Can and the player to be at Cooking Skill Level 2.

Image	Recipe Name	Ingredients	Calorie Density	Additional Effect	Weight	Cooking Times	Cooking Level
	Acorn Bannock (2)	1 Acorn Grounds 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 Water (potable)	250 Calories -3 Hydration	None	0.10 kg	40 min	2
	Bannock (2)	1 Cooking Oil 0.15 Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	200 Calories -3 Hydration	None	0.10 kg	40 min	2

Unique Cooking Recipes

There are a total of 9 Unique Recipes that can be found across Great Bear, and can only be crafted when a player finds their associated Recipe Cards and are identified in the Cooking Recipe menu via awhite star. These recipes require a Cooking Skillet or Cooking Pot and require the most ingredients to make and high Cooking Skill Levels, but they offer the greatest Affliction boosts.

Image	Recipe Name	Ingredients	Calorie Density	Additional Effect	Weight	Cooking Times	Cooking Level
	Camber Flight Porridge	0.05 Kg Maple Syrup 4 Rose Hips 1 Pinnacle Peaches 0.20 L Water (potable) 0.10 Kg Running River Oats	1000 Calories	Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours) Increase Headache (1 hour)	0.30 kg	16 min	4
	Coastal Fishcakes (4)	0.50 kg Rainbow Trout (raw) 2 Potato 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 L Water (potable) 0.01 Salt	250 Calories 6 Hydration	Increase Stamina (15%, 3 hours) Increase Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours) Decrease Cabin Fever	0.21 kg	25 min	5
	Breyerhouse Pie	0.50 kg Venison (raw) 0.50 kg Rabbit (raw) 0.50 kg Ptarmigan (raw) 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 L Water (potable) 0.20 kg Old Mill Flour	1700 Calories -3 Hydration	Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours) Decrease Fatigue (15%) Decrease Cabin Fever Decrease Stamina (-15%, 1 hour)	0.20 kg	56 min	5
	Dockworker's Pie	0.5 kg Raw Coho Salmon 0.5 kg Raw Rockfish 2 Potatoes Cooking Oil 0.01 kg Salt 0.10 L Potable Water	1500 Calories	Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours) Increase Condition (25% Immediate) Decrease Cabin Fever Decrease Stamina (-15%, 1 hour)	0.20 kg	56 min	5
	Lily's Pancakes	0.05 kg Maple Syrup 1 Pinnacle Peaches 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 L Water (potable) 1 Acorn Grounds	1000 Calories	Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours) Increase Headache (1 hour)	0.15 kg	10 min	4
	Prepper's Pie	Acorn Grounds 4 Reishi Mushroom 2 Burdock Root Cooking Oil 0.10 L Potable Water 0.01 kg Salt	900 Calories	Increased Stamina (15% for 3 hours) Decreased Carry Weight (-3 kg for 1 hour) Increased Condition (+25% immediate) Increased Cabin Fever	0.20 kg	56 min	5
	Ranger Stew	0.50 kg Raw Venison 0.50 kg Raw Rabbit Potato 2 Broth 2 Carrots 0.05 kg Old Mill Flour	1600 Calories -3 Hydration	Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours) Increase Condition (10% Immediate) Decrease Fatigue (-15%) Improved Rest (3 hours)	0.35 kg	1 hour 18 min	4
	Stalker's Pie	0.50 Kg Bear meat (raw) 0.50 Kg wolf meat (raw) 0.001 kg salt 1 Cooking Oil 0.15 L Water (potable) 1 Acorn Grounds	1600 Calories -3 Hydration	Increased Stamina (15% for 3 hours) Decreased Carry Weight (-3 kg for 1 hour) Improved Rest (6 hours) Increased Cabin Fever	0.20 kg	56 min	5
	Thomson Family Stew	1 Canned Corn 4 Carrot 2 Potato 2 Reishi Mushroom 2 Broth 0.05 kg Old Mill Flour	900 Calories 3 Hydration	Increased Stamina (15% for 3 hours) +15% Maximum Stamina Increase (for 3 hours) 3 hours of Improved Rest -15% Fatigue	0.35 kg	1 h 18 min	4

Recipes level 1-3.

Recipes level 4-5.

Removing from fire

If a food item is picked up into the survivor's inventory before cooking is complete, it will still be raw, and will require a full cooking process to start over. But food items can be moved (by right click) between cooking spots without loosing the progress. A fire that briefly goes out pauses the cooking process; if the fire is quickly relit, cooking will resume without an additional penalty.

Food left on an active Fire after it finishes cooking will burn into inedible food after a set amount of time. Burnt food items are unusable and will disappear when picked up. Recycled Cans Cooking Pots/Skillets will degrade by 5% if food is burnt. Food cooked in a cooking pot will take 50% longer to burn compared to food cooked directly by the fire or in a recycled can.

Skill levels

Players can increase their cooking skill by cooking any food or drink item and then removing them before they burn. This excludes melting and boiling water, or warming up food that has already been cooked. Warming up canned food, however, does increase cooking skill.

Skill increase occurs per item cooked -- regardless of its weight or for how long it cooked. (E.g., cooking a 100 mg morsel of Rabbit in a Cooking Pot for 3 minutes results in the same increase as cooking 1 kg of Moose Meat on a bare campfire stone for 1.5 hours!)

A limited increase can be obtained from the Research Book Wilderness Kitchen, which allows players to increase their cooking by 10 skill points with 5 hours of research.

Once players have reached a new skill level, they unlock the effects described in the table below.

Level	Skill points	Effects
1	0	Basic cooking skill
2	25	+10% calories from any cooked food item
3	75	+15% calories from any cooked food item No calorie loss when smashing open cans Cooking times reduced by 10%
4	150	+20% calories from any cooked food item No calorie loss when smashing open cans Cooking times reduced by 20% Ready times increased by 20%
5	350	+25% calories from any cooked food item No calorie loss when smashing open cans Cooking times reduced by 30% Ready times increased by 20% Never get Parasites or Food Poisoning from cooked food. (Retroactive, so meat cooked before level 5 carries no risk. Includes artificial foods.)