Skull cavern food
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Lew Zealand
Helper
What Ereo said. Gold Star Cheese is so easy to stock up on early in game as you already have Cows and a Cheese Press. Just sell all the regular quality stuff and keep the Gold Star ones.
Iridium Star Purple Mushrooms are a close second but are rarer. Maybe if you have the Forest Farm and Botanist profession, you might end up with enough of these, but the Cheese is just so quick to accumulate. I have this setup right now and I have 3 Iridium Star Purple Mushrooms and about 40 Gold Star Cheeses in mid Winter Y1, so you can see which is better.
Iridium Star Purple Mushrooms are a close second but are rarer. Maybe if you have the Forest Farm and Botanist profession, you might end up with enough of these, but the Cheese is just so quick to accumulate. I have this setup right now and I have 3 Iridium Star Purple Mushrooms and about 40 Gold Star Cheeses in mid Winter Y1, so you can see which is better.
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Elenna101
Farmer
In terms of food you can buy, salads are the best health recovery per money spent.
Otherwise, I like to get Foraging 12 and collect tons of iridium quality salmonberries and blackberries. Also, if you've gotten to Ginger Island and gotten three hearts with Linus, you can make quite a lot of sashimi with the mussels you find there.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but if you have the Artisan profession, I'd advise against using gold quality cheese. You'd get more health recovery from selling the cheese and using the proceeds to buy salads.
Gold quality cheese gives 101 health. With Artisan, it sells for 483g. Salads cost 220g from Gus, so with one gold quality cheese you can buy 483/220 = 2.2 salads. The salads give 50 health each, for a total of 109.8 health. Of course this is only a small difference, so feel free to use cheese if you'd prefer (it's probably less hassle), but mathematically salads are better.
Actually, looking at the numbers again I've realized that iridium-quality blackberries are also slightly better sold to buy salads, rather than eaten, if you have Tiller and Bear's Knowledge. Good to know.
Salmonberries and sashimi made from mussels are both better eaten rather than sold - in fact salmonberries are by far better than any other food anyone has mentioned, in terms of health returned per g.
Personally, I like to have a large stack of food that heals a moderate amount of health (like salmonberries or salads) and ~5 things that heal most or all of my health (life elixirs, pink cake, iridium quality purple mushrooms, gold cheese). The big healing items, even if they're mathematically worse than salads, are nice to have when I'm super low on health and enemies are about to hit me and I want a bunch of health all at once. This is especially true in multiplayer when enemies don't pause when you eat. But I don't want to only have large healing items, because personally I find that I start worrying about "wasting" the health, and then I don't eat until my health gets really low, and then I die by accident. If I have smaller healing items, I can just eat whenever my health gets below half.
Foods that only heal a small amount of health (e.g. regular quality salmonberries, cave carrots) are technically workable in singleplayer if you have enough of them, since you can keep eating the food to pause time until you've healed up enough. But if you're willing to sit through the eating animation as your character slooooowly eats 15 cave carrots in a row, well, you've got more patience than I do.
Otherwise, I like to get Foraging 12 and collect tons of iridium quality salmonberries and blackberries. Also, if you've gotten to Ginger Island and gotten three hearts with Linus, you can make quite a lot of sashimi with the mussels you find there.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but if you have the Artisan profession, I'd advise against using gold quality cheese. You'd get more health recovery from selling the cheese and using the proceeds to buy salads.
Gold quality cheese gives 101 health. With Artisan, it sells for 483g. Salads cost 220g from Gus, so with one gold quality cheese you can buy 483/220 = 2.2 salads. The salads give 50 health each, for a total of 109.8 health. Of course this is only a small difference, so feel free to use cheese if you'd prefer (it's probably less hassle), but mathematically salads are better.
Actually, looking at the numbers again I've realized that iridium-quality blackberries are also slightly better sold to buy salads, rather than eaten, if you have Tiller and Bear's Knowledge. Good to know.
Salmonberries and sashimi made from mussels are both better eaten rather than sold - in fact salmonberries are by far better than any other food anyone has mentioned, in terms of health returned per g.
Personally, I like to have a large stack of food that heals a moderate amount of health (like salmonberries or salads) and ~5 things that heal most or all of my health (life elixirs, pink cake, iridium quality purple mushrooms, gold cheese). The big healing items, even if they're mathematically worse than salads, are nice to have when I'm super low on health and enemies are about to hit me and I want a bunch of health all at once. This is especially true in multiplayer when enemies don't pause when you eat. But I don't want to only have large healing items, because personally I find that I start worrying about "wasting" the health, and then I don't eat until my health gets really low, and then I die by accident. If I have smaller healing items, I can just eat whenever my health gets below half.
Foods that only heal a small amount of health (e.g. regular quality salmonberries, cave carrots) are technically workable in singleplayer if you have enough of them, since you can keep eating the food to pause time until you've healed up enough. But if you're willing to sit through the eating animation as your character slooooowly eats 15 cave carrots in a row, well, you've got more patience than I do.
Giant Octopodes
Farmer
The large health recovery all at once is indeed why I prefer Cheese over selling them for salads. Not only does it take time to sell them and time to buy the salads, but it takes more real life time to recover health with the resultant salads, and I value real life time as well as in-game time. I just eat it when I get to less than half health and call it good there. It's also worth noting that each variety of food you carry with you costs an inventory slot. There's certainly merit to the idea of carrying just spicy eels for example into the SC, if you have enough Crystalariums pumping out Rubies, so that you have more slots for picking up items.
To each their own of course, everything you've indicated is correct, I'm just pointing out that there are more things to optimize for than just monetary value. For me, whether someone's going Salmonberries, Cheese, Salads, Spicy Eel, Sashimi, or Something Else, the biggest thing is that you have the ability to obtain it in sufficient quantities. I just don't want to go in there with 5 stacks of 1-2 items trying to make it work. When my food supply drops below 20 I start feeling nervous XD
hexnessie
Farmer
If you are asking about cooking recipes (for which you need to have built a kitchen), then some cheap-to-make but nice to have foods are Eggplant Parmesan, Pumpkin Soup (note: you are only going to eat 1 of these until the boost wears off - this is not a recipe to eat a bunch of to replenish health), Sashimi (a cheap recipe to eat as many as you want to restore health), Escargot (not ideal because it gives a fishing boost - but very cheap to make and restores massive amounts of health and energy).
Just remember to avoid making large numbers of any recipe that requires milk or cheese - cheese is better eaten or sold than used in recipes.
hexnessie
Farmer
Also, oh, I forgot one that is absolutely ideal - Crab Cakes! Except you are probably not going to be making them yourself at first; you can find them on crabs in the Skull Cavern or buy from Gus (for a short time) after you get friendly enough with Willy.
Tom
Farmer
I'm pretty boring. 30+ Salads. They are weak enough not to make you feel like you are "wasting", but strong enough to stay ahead of the defenders of the caverns.
Do be sure you are also doing the standard packing list: Very happy spirits, Galaxy Sword, good Pick, abt. 5 Triple Shot Espresso and Spicy Eel, many dozen bombs or ingredients (coal and essences), and as many staircases as you can muster (though it can be more fun without too many).
Do be sure you are also doing the standard packing list: Very happy spirits, Galaxy Sword, good Pick, abt. 5 Triple Shot Espresso and Spicy Eel, many dozen bombs or ingredients (coal and essences), and as many staircases as you can muster (though it can be more fun without too many).
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Lew Zealand
Helper
I totally sympathize and agree with the concept of "wasting" a high Health Food when you could use a lower Health alternative, especially at the end of the day/run when one Gold Cheese might seem like overkill. It took me forever to just graduate from Salmon/Blackberries to Gold Cheese because of this, but enough repetitions of being knocked out in Skull Cavern or even the Mines early on, has finally hammered through my heavily fortified cabeza that I cannot Fight, Pick, Forage and keep track of small changes in my Health at the same time. It just doesn't work.
So big Health items are what I need, though I will try Salads as they seem like a nice middle ground.
So big Health items are what I need, though I will try Salads as they seem like a nice middle ground.
Boo1972
Farmer
Cactus fruit. You can forage or grow them, and gold quality and iridium quality have pretty good health and energy stats. Gold star pineapple work well late game. Gold quality hops can be a life saver - at least on your first summer or fall. Let’s also give a nod to pink cake or even chocolate cake, which you can bake at home without access to chocolate. Figure that one out.
Hill Myna
Farmer
To quote my Skull Cavern Guide:
But it's been a while since I wrote that, and I've since explored almost all of 1.5's content. And since you've all covered the topic so well, I thought I'd go for something left-field:
Re: Multiplayer, I can confirm that Cheese or other big healing items are the way to go. Nothing is more frustrating then sitting there for a good 60 seconds eating Salmonberries while there are Slimes bringing your Health back down. I've died because of this.
Any food will do really, but make sure you bring a generous stack. To give you a better idea, that means 100 or so Salmon or Black berries (11 HP each), around 80 Common Mushrooms (17 HP each), approximately 35 Sashimi (33 HP each), around 25 Salads (50 HP each) and at least 20 gold-quality Cheese (56 HP each). Even if you are bringing other highly-restorative food, make sure you bring at least 20. One or two whacks of a Serpent is enough to ensure another food gone, because you never want to have a Health Bar below half-way in Skull Cavern. Plus, even if you don’t use it all, you can use the leftover for next time. Salads are popular snacks, so are gold-star Cheese and Sashimi, as these are all easy-to-stockpile, high-restoration foods. Note that you should not bring food with Buffs as your health restoring food. You’ll have a whole other 2 stacks for that!
Notes: Gold-star Cheese or Sashimi are my typical go-to foods. Gold-star Cheese only requires a barn, a few cows and a couple of hours daily. Sashimi is also easy; buy or craft 10-15 Crab Pots and a couple hundred Bait and you’re good. But if you’re Artisan and like to be really efficient, it is slightly better to sell your Cheese and buy Salads. I see why people bring Salads, because you can turn any source of money into easy Health, but I just prefer something that I can stockpile and never have to leave the farm for.
Notes: Gold-star Cheese or Sashimi are my typical go-to foods. Gold-star Cheese only requires a barn, a few cows and a couple of hours daily. Sashimi is also easy; buy or craft 10-15 Crab Pots and a couple hundred Bait and you’re good. But if you’re Artisan and like to be really efficient, it is slightly better to sell your Cheese and buy Salads. I see why people bring Salads, because you can turn any source of money into easy Health, but I just prefer something that I can stockpile and never have to leave the farm for.
But it's been a while since I wrote that, and I've since explored almost all of 1.5's content. And since you've all covered the topic so well, I thought I'd go for something left-field:
Mangos
They sell for 160G, but they provide 45 Health, so that's .28 Health per G.
Gold-quality Cheese sells for 483G (Artisan assumed), and gives you 101 Health, so .21 Health per G.
Mango Trees aren't particularly hard to set up, if you swap out all the Coconuts you've collected you can get a decent amount set up mid-way through Year 2. So they're definitely a late-game item.
But with 8 or so in your Greenhouse or on Ginger Island, you can start a decent stockpile, equivalent to what a basic Barn full of Cows could give you.
You could argue that if you sold Mango Wine and bought Salads, you'd be better off, and I would agree. But they're an alternative that doesn't require much effort at all: no Grass or Hay, no petting, no Hassle!
And what better to take your mind off the Serpents and the heat than taking a break and chowin' down on some Mangos?
They sell for 160G, but they provide 45 Health, so that's .28 Health per G.
Gold-quality Cheese sells for 483G (Artisan assumed), and gives you 101 Health, so .21 Health per G.
Mango Trees aren't particularly hard to set up, if you swap out all the Coconuts you've collected you can get a decent amount set up mid-way through Year 2. So they're definitely a late-game item.
But with 8 or so in your Greenhouse or on Ginger Island, you can start a decent stockpile, equivalent to what a basic Barn full of Cows could give you.
You could argue that if you sold Mango Wine and bought Salads, you'd be better off, and I would agree. But they're an alternative that doesn't require much effort at all: no Grass or Hay, no petting, no Hassle!
And what better to take your mind off the Serpents and the heat than taking a break and chowin' down on some Mangos?
Re: Multiplayer, I can confirm that Cheese or other big healing items are the way to go. Nothing is more frustrating then sitting there for a good 60 seconds eating Salmonberries while there are Slimes bringing your Health back down. I've died because of this.
Giant Octopodes
Farmer
I just want to point out that if you want to talk Super late game, like 1, 2, or 3 years past that point, the calculations only become more favorable.
PoppyForPenny
Farmer
If I have botanist, iridium crystal fruit is my favorite.
nicodeux
Farmer
I join my fellows comrades here: high healing food like cheeses are my favorite option in Skull Cavern.
The main reason are the 2 or 3 serpents that zoom towards you at once as soon as you step onto the next level, that very moment when you notice that, on a second thought, you don't have that much HP left...
The main reason are the 2 or 3 serpents that zoom towards you at once as soon as you step onto the next level, that very moment when you notice that, on a second thought, you don't have that much HP left...
WhiteEagle12
Farmer
I'm going to have to agree with those who have spoken about the benefits of high health and energy foods. they're super convenient and solve any health issues you have or had in an instant, therefore allowing you to get back to whatever you were doing as quickly as possible, not to mention the extreme satisfaction of seeing your health/stamina bars go from nada to full by eating a hunk of iridium cheese :-)
lmandrews012
Greenhorn
Personally, I'm a big fan of Spicy Eel, and the best part is that the serpents in SC will drop it sometimes.
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imnvs
Local Legend
All of the cheese I get to iridium quality is saved (iridium goat cheese is sold because it is more expensive and has the same healing) and used for adventuring when I need only healing.
Once I get to the point where I am ready to start putting ancient fruit or starfruit through the cellar, I stop aging cheese of any sort... now regular cheese is saved for cooking and goat cheese is sold.
I've achieved perfection and am currently year 4. I still have 100 iridium cheese left. I'll keep using it and keep saving up other foods for healing as I get them. (Some foods I just get piles of because I have over 50 statues of endless fortune, and on certain people's birthdays you get their favorite food.)
Once I get to the point where I am ready to start putting ancient fruit or starfruit through the cellar, I stop aging cheese of any sort... now regular cheese is saved for cooking and goat cheese is sold.
I've achieved perfection and am currently year 4. I still have 100 iridium cheese left. I'll keep using it and keep saving up other foods for healing as I get them. (Some foods I just get piles of because I have over 50 statues of endless fortune, and on certain people's birthdays you get their favorite food.)