Meals

Cooking meals let you convert raw ingredients into food which is more enjoyable and/or nutritious.

Quick Reference Table

Name	Market Value	Ingredient Count	Nutrients (In)	Nutrients (Out)	Nutrient Efficiency	Taste	Work To Make
Chocolate	3	n/a	0.1	0.1	n/a	Fine	n/a
Fine meal	20	2	0.5	0.9	180%	Fine	8
Kibble	1.1	2	2.0	2.5 = 0.05 * 50	125%	Raw	8
Lavish meal	40	2	1.0	1	100%	Lavish	14
Nutrient paste meal	10	1	0.3	0.9	300%	Awful	n/a
Packaged survival meal	24	2	0.6	0.9	150%	Simple	8
Pemmican	1.4	2	0.5	0.8 = 0.05 * 16	160%	Simple	12
Simple meal	15	1	0.5	0.9	180%	Simple	5

Chocolate

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.

Fine meal

A complex dish assembled with care from a wide selection of ingredients.

A fine meal is created at an electric stove or fueled stove and requires 0.25 nutrition from any combination of animal products and meat (5 meat, 5 milk or 1 egg) and 0.25 nutrition from vegetables (5 non-Hay vegetarian products) to create. A colonist with cooking skill of at least 6 is required to create this meal. When eaten it causes the Ate fine meal thought with a 5 mood bonus. A fine meal provides 0.9 nutrition.

Kibble

Kibble animal feed made from mixed meat and plant sources.

Kibble is a kind of animal feed. It can only be made by a cook at a butcher table. No minimum cooking skill is required to create it. The recipe requires 1 unit of nutrition from vegetarian items and 1 unit of nutrition from meat and/or animal products. A completed bill produces 50 kibble (only 35 at a butcher spot). Kibble restores only 0.05 saturation each, but up to 20 can be consumed in one sitting. Kibble never spoils (though it can degrade if left outdoors), so kibble is a long-term and easily stored way to feed a large number of animals.

Lavish meal

A masterpiece of the culinary arts, this meal nourishes the body, mind, and soul.

A lavish meal is created at an electric stove or fueled stove and requires 0.5 nutrition from any combination of animal products and meat, and 0.5 nutrition from vegetables to create. A colonist with cooking skill of at least 8 is required to create this meal. When eaten it causes the Ate lavish meal thought with a 12 mood bonus. A lavish meal provides 0.9 nutrition.

Nutrient paste meal

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 worth 0.3 points of nutrition (ie. the raw nutrition is tripled). When consumed, it gives a -4 mood penalty ("Ate awful meal"). The meals are dispensed on demand, and no cooking skill is required. Nutrient paste meals never cause food poisoning. The nutrient paste dispenser requires power to dispense a meal.

Packaged survival meal

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 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 never expire, meaning they do not require cold storage. They require 0.3 nutrition of vegetarian and 0.3 nutrition of meat or animal product to produce.

Pemmican

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.

Pemmican is a low-tech long-lasting food, ideal for caravan trips. It can be cooked (after researched) from a mixture of 0.25 nutrition from meat and 0.25 nutrition from vegetables, without cooking skill requirement, on a campfire, fueled stove or an electric stove. A single batch produces 16 pemmican with 0.05 nutrition each, for 0.8 nutrition total, and up to 20 can be consumed in one sitting. It can also be purchased from traders.

Simple meal

A simple meal quickly cooked from a few ingredients.

A simple meal is created at an  electric stove, fueled stove, or a campfire and requires 0.5 total nutrition from any raw food (e.g. any combination of 10 meat, milk, or vegetables. 1 egg is equivalent to 5 meat.) to create. No cooking skill is required to create this meal. When eaten it provides no thought bonus or penalty. A simple meal provides 0.9 nutrition.