The Long Dark Wiki
Register
Advertisement


Cooking

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

Cooking menu

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 icon Fire
  • Used to cook any canned food and meat.
  • Includes player-made campfires and contained fires made in existing fireboxes.
Recycled Can icon Recycled Can
  • Used to cook canned foods.
  • Can melt and boil up to 0.5 liters of water at a time.
Cooking Pot icon 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 icon 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

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.

Image Name Cooking Slots
Ammunition Workbench Ammunition Work Bench Forge 0
Pot belly stove Pot Belly Stove 1
Forge Furnace/Forge 1
Fire radial icon Campfire 2
Fire barrel Fire Barrel 2
Fire place Fireplace 2
Screen ab2c5b97-8817-4398-a5b1-fb4b96024b93 hi Rim Grill 2
Wood stove Wood Stove 2
Stove Stove 6

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)[1 1]

Energy density

(kcal/kg)

Notes
Rabbit (Cooked) icon Rabbit (Cooked) 38 450 kg
(990 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw rabbit meat harvested from a Rabbit Carcass
Venison (Cooked) icon Venison (Cooked) 57 800 kg
(1760 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw venison harvested from a Deer carcass
Wolf Meat (Cooked) icon Wolf Meat (Cooked) 69 700 kg
(1540 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw wolf meat harvested from a Wolf or Timberwolf carcass
Bear Meat (Cooked) icon Bear Meat (Cooked) 82 900 kg
(1980 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw black bear meat harvested from a black Bear carcass
Moose Meat (Cooked) icon Moose Meat (Cooked) 82 900 kg
(1980 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw moose meat harvested from a Moose carcass
Ptarmigan (Cooked) icon Ptarmigan (Cooked) 38 450 kg
(990 lb)
Obtained by cooking ptarmigan meat harvested from a Ptarmigan Carcass.
  1. When cooked directly on a fire. Times scale to weight cooked (i.e., 0.5 kilograms cooks in half the time that 1.0 kilograms does).

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) [2 1]

Energy density Notes
Lake Whitefish (Cooked) icon Lake Whitefish (Cooked) 21 383.33 kg
(843.326 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Lake Whitefish fished from a freshwater location.
Rainbow Trout (Cooked) icon Rainbow Trout (Cooked) 19 383.33 kg
(843.326 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Rainbow Trout fished from a saltwater location.
Coho Salmon (Cooked) icon Coho Salmon (Cooked) 12 445.95 kg
(981.09 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Coho Salmon fished from a saltwater location.
Smallmouth Bass (Cooked) icon Smallmouth Bass (Cooked) 15 454.55 kg
(1000.01 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Smallmouth Bass fished from a freshwater location.
Burbot (Cooked) icon Burbot (Cooked) 12 487.71 kg
(1072.962 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Burbot fished from a freshwater location.
Rockfish (Cooked) icon Rockfish (Cooked) 11 449.31 kg
(988.482 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Rockfish fished from a saltwater location.
Red Irish Lord (Cooked) icon 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) icon Goldeye (Cooked) 17 452.24 kg
(994.928 lb)
Obtained by cooking raw Goldeye fished from a freshwater location.
  1. When cooked directly on a fire. Times scale to weight cooked (i.e., 0.5 kilograms cooks in half the time that 1.0 kilograms does).

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 icon Canned Corn 1475 kcal / kg
(670 kcal / lb)
Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.
Pinnacle Peaches icon Pinnacle Peaches 900 kcal / kg
(409 kcal / lb)
Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.
Tomato Soup icon Tomato Soup 1200 kcal / kg
(545 kcal / lb)
Consuming while Hot also provides Warming Up to the player.
Pork and Beans icon 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 icon Birch Bark Tea Bonus Restore Condition Prepared Birch Bark 0.05 kg
(0.11 lb)
0.10 kg
(0.22 lb)
Burdock Tea icon Burdock Tea Afflictions cured by Antibiotics Prepared Burdock 0.15 kg
(0.33 lb)
N/A
Cup of Acorn Coffee icon Cup of Acorn Coffee Bonus Fatigue Reduced Acorn Grounds 0.20 kg
(0.44 lb)
N/A
Cup of Coffee icon Cup of Coffee Bonus Fatigue Reduced Tin of Coffee 0.01 kg
(0.022 lb)
N/A
Cup of Herbal Tea icon Cup of Herbal Tea Bonus Improved Rest Herbal Tea 0.01 kg
(0.022 lb)
N/A
Reishi Tea icon Reishi Tea Afflictions cured by Antibiotics Prepared Reishi Mushrooms 0.05 kg
(0.11 lb)
0.10 kg
(0.22 lb)
Rose Hip Tea icon 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) icon Acorns (Cooked) 80 kcal Prepared Acorns 0.05 kg
(0.11 lb)
N/A
Acorns (Cooked - Large Portion) icon Acorns (Cooked - Large Portion) 400 kcal Prepared Acorns (Large Portion) 0.20 kg
(0.44 lb)
N/A
Cooked Potato icon Cooked Potato 250 kcal Potato 0.20 kg
(0.44 lb)
0.15 kg
(0.33 lb)
Ptarmigan icon
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.

Frontier Cooking Recipes

Icon Enhanced Cooking

1-Cooking-System-1-768x432

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 (at this time there are no Recycled Can Recipes despite having a menu) 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.

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 icon Carrot 0.10 kg
Cooking Oil icon Cooking Oil 0.05 kg
Old Mill Flour icon Old Mill Flour 1.50 kg
Potato icon Potato 0.20 kg
Running River Oats icon Running River Oats 0.80 kg
Salt icon 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 icon Broth (4)
  • 170 Calories
  • 5 Hydration
None 0.8 kg 56 min
Porridge icon Porridge
  • 350 Calories
None 0.20 kg 20 min
Ptarmigan Stew icon Ptarmigan Stew
  • 750 Calories
  • 3 Hydration
  • Improves Rest (3 hours)
  • Increases Fatigue (15%)
0.35 kg 1 hr 52 min
Rabbit Stew icon Rabbit Stew
  • 750 Calories
  • 3 Hydration
  • Improves Rest (3 hours)
  • Increases Fatigue (15%)
0.35 kg 1 hr 52 min
Trout Stew icon Trout Stew
  • 750 Calories
  • 3 Hydration
  • Improves Rest (3 hours)
  • Increases Fatigue (15%)
0.35 kg 1 hr 52 min
Venison Stew icon Venison Stew
  • 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 icon Acorn Bannock (2)
  • 250 Calories
  • -3 Hydration
None 0.10 kg 40 min 2
Acorn Pancakes icon Acorn Pancakes
  • 750 Calories
  • -3 Hydration
None 0.10 kg 12 min 2
Bannock icon Bannock (2)
  • 200 Calories
  • -3 Hydration
None 0.10 kg 40 min 2
Pancakes icon Pancakes
  • 500 Calories
  • -3 Hydration
None 0.10 kg 12 min 2
Peach Pie icon Peach Pie (3)
  • 250 Calories
  • Decrease Fatigue (15%)
  • Increase Headache (1 hour)
0.15 kg 1 hr 20 min 3
Ptarmigan Pie icon Ptarmigan Pie (3)
  • 250 Calories
  • 6 Hydration
  • Increase Max Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours)
0.15 kg 1 hr 20 min 3
Rabbit Pie icon Rabbit Pie (3)
  • 250 Calories
  • 6 Hydration
  • Increase Max Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours)
0.15 kg 1 hr 20 min 3
Rose Hip Pie icon Rose Hip Pie (3)
  • 225 Calories
  • 10 Hydration
  • Decrease Fatigue (15%)
  • Increase Headache (1 hour)
0.15 kg 1 hr 20 min 3
Venison Pie icon Venison Pie (3)
  • 325 Calories
  • 6 Hydration
  • Increase Max Carry Weight (3kg, 3 hours)
0.15 kg 1 hr 20 min 3

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 a white 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 icon Camber Flight Porridge
  • 1000 Calories
  • Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours)
  • Increase Headache (1 hour)
0.30 kg 16 min 4
Coastal Fishcakes icon Coastal Fishcakes (4)
  • 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 icon Breyerhouse Pie
  • 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 icon 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 icon Lily's Pancakes
  • 1000 Calories
  • Increase Max Condition (10% max, 3 hours)
  • Increase Headache (1 hour)
0.15 kg 10 min 4
Prepper's Pie icon 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 icon 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 icon 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 icon 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 Max Stamina
  • Increased Rest
  • Increased Fatigue
0.35 kg 1 h 18 min 4

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.)
Advertisement