Prepared Foods

Version History

Build Version	Change Date	Change Type	Description
676042	2025-06-21	stable	Current version

Overview

The preparedfoods.lua module defines all standard recipes that can be crafted in regular cookpots throughout Don't Starve Together. This comprehensive system includes over 60 unique recipes ranging from basic sustenance to specialized dishes with unique effects, temperature modifications, and nutritional benefits.

Module Structure

The module exports a table of food definitions where each recipe includes test conditions, nutritional values, cooking parameters, and optional special effects:

local foods = {
    [recipe_name] = {
        test = function(cooker, names, tags) -- Ingredient requirements
        priority = number, -- Recipe selection priority
        foodtype = FOODTYPE, -- Primary food classification
        health = number, -- Health restoration value
        hunger = number, -- Hunger restoration value
        sanity = number, -- Sanity change value
        perishtime = number, -- Spoilage duration
        cooktime = number, -- Cooking time required
        -- Optional special properties...
    }
}

Recipe Categories

Basic Sustenance Recipes

meatballs

Status: stable

Description: Basic meat dish with minimal ingredient requirements.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return tags.meat and not tags.inedible
end

Properties:

Priority: -1 (fallback recipe)
Health: TUNING.HEALING_SMALL
Hunger: TUNING.CALORIES_SMALL * 5
Pot Level: high

ratatouille

Status: stable

Description: Basic vegetable dish for vegetarian sustenance.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return not tags.meat and tags.veggie and tags.veggie >= 0.5 and not tags.inedible
end

Properties:

Priority: 0
Foodtype: FOODTYPE.VEGGIE

Specialty Meat Dishes

honeyham

Status: stable

Description: Premium meat dish with honey enhancement.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return names.honey and tags.meat and tags.meat > 1.5 and not tags.inedible
end

Properties:

Health: TUNING.HEALING_MEDLARGE
Hunger: TUNING.CALORIES_HUGE
Temperature: TUNING.HOT_FOOD_BONUS_TEMP
Temperature Duration: TUNING.FOOD_TEMP_AVERAGE
Tags: honeyed

surfnturf

Status: stable

Description: Luxury dish combining meat and fish for maximum benefits.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return tags.meat and tags.meat >= 2.5 
           and tags.fish and tags.fish >= 1.5 
           and not tags.frozen
end

Properties:

Priority: 30
Health: TUNING.HEALING_HUGE
Hunger: TUNING.CALORIES_LARGE
Sanity: TUNING.SANITY_LARGE
Pot Level: high

Desserts and Treats

icecream

Status: stable

Description: Frozen dessert providing significant sanity restoration and cooling.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return tags.frozen and tags.dairy and tags.sweetener 
           and not tags.meat and not tags.veggie and not tags.inedible and not tags.egg
end

Properties:

Foodtype: FOODTYPE.GOODIES
Sanity: TUNING.SANITY_HUGE
Temperature: TUNING.COLD_FOOD_BONUS_TEMP
Temperature Duration: TUNING.FOOD_TEMP_LONG
Perish Time: TUNING.PERISH_SUPERFAST

jellybean

Status: stable

Description: Special confection providing health regeneration over time.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return names.royal_jelly and not tags.inedible and not tags.monster
end

Special Properties:

Non-perishable (perishtime = nil)
Stackable (stacksize = 3)
Health regeneration buff via oneatenfn
Tags: honeyed

Unique Effect Recipes

mandrakesoup

Status: stable

Description: Powerful soup made from mandrake with exceptional restorative properties.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return names.mandrake
end

Properties:

Priority: 10
Health: TUNING.HEALING_SUPERHUGE
Hunger: TUNING.CALORIES_SUPERHUGE
Perish Time: TUNING.PERISH_FAST

shroomcake

Status: stable

Description: Magical cake that provides sleep resistance and immunity.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return names.moon_cap and names.red_cap and names.blue_cap and names.green_cap
end

Special Effects:

Resets grogginess
Applies sleep resistance and immunity buffs
Requires all four mushroom cap types

Monster Food

monsterlasagna

Status: stable

Description: Unappetizing dish made primarily from monster meat.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return tags.monster and tags.monster >= 2 and not tags.inedible
end

Properties:

Health: -TUNING.HEALING_MED (negative)
Sanity: -TUNING.SANITY_MEDLARGE (negative)
Foodtype: FOODTYPE.MEAT
Secondary Foodtype: FOODTYPE.MONSTER
Tags: monstermeat

Special Utility Foods

powcake

Status: stable

Description: Long-lasting emergency ration with poor taste but infinite shelf life.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return names.twigs and names.honey 
           and (names.corn or names.corn_cooked or names.oceanfish_small_5_inv or names.oceanfish_medium_5_inv)
end

Properties:

Health: -TUNING.HEALING_SMALL (negative)
Hunger: 0
Perish Time: 9000000 (effectively infinite)
Tags: honeyed, donotautopick

Beefalo Feed

beefalofeed

Status: stable

Description: Basic feed suitable for beefalo consumption.

Test Conditions:

function(cooker, names, tags)
    return tags.inedible and not tags.monster and not tags.meat 
           and not tags.fish and not tags.egg and not tags.fat 
           and not tags.dairy and not tags.magic
end

Properties:

Priority: -5
Foodtype: FOODTYPE.ROUGHAGE
Secondary Foodtype: FOODTYPE.WOOD
Special cookbook behavior for beefalo

beefalotreat

Status: stable

Description: Premium beefalo feed with enhanced nutrition.

Properties:

Priority: -4
Health: TUNING.HEALING_MOREHUGE
Pot Level: high

Recipe Properties System

Standard Properties

All recipes include these fundamental properties:

Property	Type	Default	Description
`name`	string	key	Recipe identifier
`weight`	number	1	Recipe weight for selection
`priority`	number	0	Selection priority (higher wins)
`cookbook_category`	string	"cookpot"	Recipe book categorization

Nutritional Properties

Property	Type	Description
`health`	number	Health points restored (can be negative)
`hunger`	number	Hunger points restored
`sanity`	number	Sanity points changed (can be negative)
`perishtime`	number	Time before spoilage (nil = non-perishable)

Cooking Properties

Property	Type	Description
`cooktime`	number	Time required to cook
`potlevel`	string	Required pot upgrade level
`overridebuild`	string	Custom visual appearance

Special Effect Properties

Property	Type	Description
`temperature`	number	Temperature change applied to eater
`temperatureduration`	number	Duration of temperature effect
`oneatenfn`	function	Custom function executed when consumed
`prefabs`	table	Required prefabs for special effects
`oneat_desc`	string	Description of eating effects

Food Type Classifications

Primary Food Types

FOODTYPE.MEAT: Meat-based dishes
FOODTYPE.VEGGIE: Vegetarian dishes
FOODTYPE.GOODIES: Desserts and treats
FOODTYPE.ROUGHAGE: Animal feed

Secondary Food Types

FOODTYPE.MONSTER: Monster meat content
FOODTYPE.WOOD: Woody content for animals
FOODTYPE.ELEMENTAL: Special elemental foods

Recipe Testing System

Ingredient Matching

The recipe system uses test functions to match ingredients:

test = function(cooker, names, tags)
    -- Check for specific named ingredients
    if names.specific_ingredient then
        -- Specific ingredient check
    end
    
    -- Check ingredient tag totals
    if tags.category and tags.category >= minimum then
        -- Category requirement met
    end
    
    -- Check exclusions
    if not tags.unwanted or tags.unwanted < maximum then
        -- Unwanted ingredients within limits
    end
    
    return all_conditions_met
end

Priority Resolution

When multiple recipes match the same ingredients:

Higher priority numbers take precedence
Equal priorities may result in random selection
Negative priorities serve as fallback options

Common Ingredient Tags

Tag	Description	Examples
`meat`	Meat content value	Raw meat, cooked meat
`veggie`	Vegetable content value	Carrots, potatoes
`fruit`	Fruit content value	Berries, dragon fruit
`fish`	Fish content value	Fish meat, eels
`egg`	Egg content value	Bird eggs, tall bird eggs
`dairy`	Dairy content value	Butter, milk
`sweetener`	Sweetening content	Honey, royal jelly
`frozen`	Frozen content value	Ice, frozen foods
`inedible`	Inedible content value	Twigs, stones
`monster`	Monster content value	Monster meat

Special Effects Implementation

Temperature Effects

Many recipes provide temporary temperature modifications:

-- Hot food example
temperature = TUNING.HOT_FOOD_BONUS_TEMP,
temperatureduration = TUNING.FOOD_TEMP_LONG,

-- Cold food example
temperature = TUNING.COLD_FOOD_BONUS_TEMP,
temperatureduration = TUNING.FOOD_TEMP_AVERAGE,

Buff Application

Some recipes apply temporary character buffs:

oneatenfn = function(inst, eater)
    eater:AddDebuff("buff_name", "buff_name")
end,
prefabs = { "buff_prefab_name" },

Stat Manipulation

Advanced recipes can directly modify character statistics:

oneatenfn = function(inst, eater)
    if eater.components.sanity ~= nil then
        eater.components.sanity:DoDelta(amount)
    end
end

Visual Customization

Override Builds

Some recipes use custom visual appearances:

overridebuild = "cook_pot_food2", -- Custom food appearance

Floating Parameters

Animation parameters for food items:

floater = {"size", y_offset, scale}, -- Animation configuration

Recipe Integration Examples

Creating a New Recipe

local new_recipe = {
    test = function(cooker, names, tags)
        return names.custom_ingredient and tags.meat >= 1
    end,
    priority = 15,
    foodtype = FOODTYPE.MEAT,
    health = TUNING.HEALING_MED,
    hunger = TUNING.CALORIES_LARGE,
    sanity = TUNING.SANITY_SMALL,
    perishtime = TUNING.PERISH_MED,
    cooktime = 1.0,
    potlevel = "high"
}

Testing Recipe Matches

-- Simulate ingredient collection
local test_ingredients = {
    names = {meat = 2, berries = 1, honey = 1},
    tags = {meat = 2, fruit = 1, sweetener = 1}
}

-- Test against honeyham recipe
if foods.honeyham.test(nil, test_ingredients.names, test_ingredients.tags) then
    print("Can make honey ham!")
end

preparedfoods_warly: Warly-specific portable cookpot recipes
preparednonfoods: Non-food cookpot recipes
cooking: Core cooking system mechanics
components/cookpot: Cookpot component implementation
tuning: Game balance constants and values

Notes

Recipe priority determines selection when multiple recipes match
All recipes are categorized as "cookpot" for the standard cookbook
Temperature effects provide gameplay benefits beyond nutrition
Special effect recipes often require rare ingredients as balance mechanisms
The donotautopick tag prevents certain recipes from being auto-selected
Monster food provides high hunger but negative health/sanity as a trade-off
Some recipes have stacksize limitations for balance purposes

Version History​

Overview​

Module Structure​

Recipe Categories​

Basic Sustenance Recipes​

meatballs​

ratatouille​

Specialty Meat Dishes​

honeyham​

surfnturf​

Desserts and Treats​

icecream​

jellybean​

Unique Effect Recipes​

mandrakesoup​

shroomcake​

Monster Food​

monsterlasagna​

Special Utility Foods​

powcake​

Beefalo Feed​

beefalofeed​

beefalotreat​

Recipe Properties System​

Standard Properties​

Nutritional Properties​

Cooking Properties​

Special Effect Properties​

Food Type Classifications​

Primary Food Types​

Secondary Food Types​

Recipe Testing System​

Ingredient Matching​

Priority Resolution​

Common Ingredient Tags​

Special Effects Implementation​

Temperature Effects​

Buff Application​

Stat Manipulation​

Visual Customization​

Override Builds​

Floating Parameters​

Recipe Integration Examples​

Creating a New Recipe​

Testing Recipe Matches​

Related Modules​

Notes​

Version History

Overview

Module Structure

Recipe Categories

Basic Sustenance Recipes

meatballs

ratatouille

Specialty Meat Dishes

honeyham

surfnturf

Desserts and Treats

icecream

jellybean

Unique Effect Recipes

mandrakesoup

shroomcake

Monster Food

monsterlasagna

Special Utility Foods

powcake

Beefalo Feed

beefalofeed

beefalotreat

Recipe Properties System

Standard Properties

Nutritional Properties

Cooking Properties

Special Effect Properties

Food Type Classifications

Primary Food Types

Secondary Food Types

Recipe Testing System

Ingredient Matching

Priority Resolution

Common Ingredient Tags

Special Effects Implementation

Temperature Effects

Buff Application

Stat Manipulation

Visual Customization

Override Builds

Floating Parameters

Recipe Integration Examples

Creating a New Recipe

Testing Recipe Matches

Related Modules

Notes