Cooking in Project Zomboid is viewed by many to be a largely useless skill - why invest so much time, effort, and so many resources into one little thing just to have an actual meal in Zomboid when you can eat prepackaged food for essentially forever? Especially considering how many calorie dense foods are in-game now that don't perish, you will effectively never starve to death.

If you're playing with Loot Respawn on, these people technically have a point - you really won't ever come to a point where you're out of actual prepackaged food to eat once the perishables start going since it just respawns forever. If Loot Respawn is off, however, Cooking's true potential comes out, as it allows you to extend the lifespan of your perishable foods significantly, create filling meals from ingredients that aren't very good when eaten independently, and even salvage rotten foods. It's also just plain fun to cook in Zomboid.

Unlike in my Aiming guide, you don't really have to change too many settings to make use of Cooking, in fact, you can leave the settings default and be perfectly fine for the most part. However, if you do want to change settings, there are two that I would suggest modifying - Nature's Abundance, and Farming Abundance. You can set Nature's Abundance to whatever you like, but I would not bump Farming Abundance more than one level higher than default. Fully grown crops give you a LOT of produce, and if you set Farming Abundance too high, you'll quickly find that your long-term storage will be overfull, leaving no room for anything else, which will waste that produce.

Zomboid has three different ways of setting your cooking skill before the apocalypse, and these are the Chef and Burger Flipper professions, and the Cook trait. Chef gives you 3 levels in Cooking, one level in Maintenance, and one level in Short Blade for a four point penalty, Burger Flipper gives you the same thing, except with +2 Cooking instead of +3 and gives you two extra points to work with. The Cook trait gives you +2 Cooking for a six point penalty.

Now, this may surprise you, especially if you're coming from the Aiming guide, but the Cooking skill itself is significantly not worth investing the points into as a character or basing your entire build around. What is worth choosing are the various traits and professions that boost your ability to collect and gather ingredients, while boosting as many practical skills as possible, namely the Park Ranger and Fisherman jobs, and the Angler, Hiker, and Hunter traits, depending on what you intend on doing with that character. Farmer and Gardener aren't very good, as Farming levels only give you more information about crops which you'll get a feel for anyways as you become more familiar with farming.

Now that your character is set up and you've spawned in, play the game however you normally would. Cooking can wait as far as the early game goes, since at low levels you basically only waste food trying to cook. Keep an eye out for cooking utensils like pots and pans, the Cooking skill books, the Good Cooking Magazines and the VHS tapes for the Cook Show.

When you're all set up, the first thing to do is read the relevant Cooking skill book to get the XP multiplier for your cooking skill level. Then, watch the Cook Show to level up Cooking. After every two levels, if the VHS is still playing, stop it so that you can read the book for the next two levels, and then resume until you've gone through the Cook Show. This should carry you through most of Cooking's grinding, putting you at about level 5 or 6 without any boosts. The reason for doing this is threefold, in that it prevents you from wasting precious perishables grinding Cooking, and provides two immediate benefits to products of Cooking, those being less ingredient usage, and increased hunger reduction, so that they not only use less of your perishables, thereby extending your food lifespan, and keeps you fed for longer. Note that the hunger reduction does not impact the actual nutritional value of the food, just the hungry moodle itself. You can be Full To Bursting on something like a really nice salad, but still be starving to death as your weight ticks down.

Having a good base location is very important - you don't want to set up somewhere crap and just be screwed at all opportunities. This goes double if you intend on making frequent use of cooking in Zomboid. You generally want a base located in a place that will provide easy access to fresh ingredients and other necessary resources to make yourself self-sufficient, one that is ideally isolated from the undead hordes but still close enough to civilization to allow scavenging if needed. The following is a list of bases that generally meet these requirements.

The West Point McMansions™ are a group of three large homes located just outside of West Point that are fairly isolated, provide plenty of space to farm, and more importantly, provide access to both the woods for trapping, and two separate fishing zones in the southern lake and along the Ohio River. My preferred base location.

The Riverside farms are two homes that are similarly sized to the West Point McMansions™, located to the southwest of Riverside. Doesn't have direct access to a source of water for fishing, but the Riverside Country Club (south) and the Ohio (north) are fairly close by. Pretty close to the woods, but unfortunately there's a little hamlet just across the road that can drag zombies over from events, so it isn't as isolated as one would like.

The Doe Valley (or Ekron as most incorrectly call it) Church is a really neat base location. It's just on the outskirts of Doe Valley, so it does get a few zombie spawns, but you can really easily isolate the whole plot thanks to the north lake essentially serving as a natural barrier. Plenty of land to work with, lots of lumber. Also, thematically, cool as hell to be working out of an old church. The town has a police station and a gun store, too, if you needed any further enticing.

Located north of the above base, it's a two story gas station with pumps and a water source. Unfortunately, harder to protect since it's closer to town.

There are multiple of these, and they're all very much off the grid (or in the middle of the ass end of nowhere). Very little variation between them beyond whether they have wells or wood furnaces. I dislike these since basing out of a woodland cabin is really boring.

Reserved for when I get around to writing nutritional information. As a placeholder until I can be more detailed, general nutritional advice for the average Zomboid character is something like 3000 calories daily to maintain your weight if you're doing labor, fighting, running around, etc.

The amount of fruits and vegetables in Zomboid may seem overwhelming as far as cooking them all goes, especially early game, but this is a handy list that summarizes the important parts about each fruit and vegetable in-game, including their nutritional values, whether they are renewable or not, et cetera.

The vegetable category covers most kinds of produce found within Zomboid, including two of your most important pieces of produce when it comes to survival - potatoes, and cabbage. Learn these well, because you're going to be working with them a lot.

Potatoes are beyond exceptional as far as produce goes, primarily due to the length of time it takes for them to fully rot, which is 28 days, 14 of which are spent fresh, and 14 of which are stale. If refrigerated, it takes even longer for them to spoil. They are *very* useful as an emergency food source if something happens and most of your supply disappears. One whole fresh potato provides -18 Hunger, -7 Thirst, and nutritionally has 70 calories, 14.52 carbs, 2.88 proteins, and 0.15 fats. Potatoes can be grown as crops, which takes 20 days until they're able to be harvested, and an additional 4 days for them to become Seed Bearing, which is when you want to harvest them. In Build 42, you will be able to directly plant Potatoes.

Cabbages are the most important vegetable you will ever be working with. Not because of any inherent nutritional quality or anything, but what it can do for you to get better meals. Cabbage can be used in Trapping in order to catch Rabbits, which are insanely good for keeping your weight healthy - one rabbit can potentially provide over two thousand calories. Cabbage also grows extremely quickly, at ten days, with an additional two to reach Seed Bearing, with the only catch being that it spoils very quickly, going from fresh to rotten in four days, making Cabbage a 'use it or lose it' type deal. One whole fresh cabbage provides -25 Hunger, -15 Thirst, and nutritionally has 178 calories, 41.41 carbs, 9.14 proteins, and 0.71 fats.

Carrots serve a similar role in your diet as Cabbage, being that it is primarily used in trapping to catch Rabbit. Compared to Cabbage, Carrots take longer to rot, at 8 days, 6 of which are spent fresh, have an identical grow time, and have a higher attractiveness for Rabbits. The main difference is that Carrot crops can actually be over-watered, which kills the crop, meaning you have to micromanage the thing's water intake, which is honestly a pain. One whole fresh carrot provides -8 Hunger, -4 Thirst, and nutritionally provides 25 calories, 5.84 carbs, 0.57 proteins, and 0.15 fats.

Beyond the above three vegetables, everything else in this category is more or less flavor for your character to eat in your meals. One head of Broccoli rots in 6 days, four of which are spent fresh. One fresh head provides -9 Hunger, -4 Thirst, and nutritionally has 11 calories, 2.06 carbs, 0.87 proteins, and 0.11 fats. Can be grown as a crop, which takes 23 days to become harvestable, and an additional 5 days for seeds. Can also be foraged at level 2.

Eaten independently, Radishes actually suck really badly. One fresh Radish gives you -3 Hunger, -1 Thirst, and nutritionally has a whopping one calorie and 0.15 carbs, and rots in 7 days, 3 of which are spent fresh. Can be grown as a crop, which yields harvest in 12 days, with an additional 3 days for seeds, and can also be foraged at level 2. Shares the unfortunate distinction of being able to die from over-watering with Carrots.

One fresh Bell Pepper provides -8 Hunger, -2 Thirst, and nutritionally has 30 calories, 7 carbs, and 1 protein. Bell Peppers take 8 days to rot, 5 of which are spent fresh. Notably, these are the first of several fruits and veggies that cannot be farmed at all, and must instead be found through foraging once the supply in grocery stores rots. Can be foraged at level 7.

Lettuce provides a similar attractiveness for Rabbits as Cabbage, but is significantly less accessible once the existing supply in containers rots. One fresh head of Lettuce takes 5 days to rot, 3 of which are spent fresh, and gives -15 Hunger, -7 Thirst, and nutritionally provides 54 calories, 10.33 carbs, 4.9 proteins, and 0.54 fats. Can be foraged at level 7, and cannot be farmed.

One fresh Leek provides -12 Hunger, -5 Thirst, and nutritionally has 54 calories, 12.59 carbs, 1.34 proteins, and 0.27 fats, and it takes 8 days to fully rot, 5 of which are spent fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 2.

One fresh Onion provides -10 Hunger, and nutritionally has 28 calories, 6.54 carbs, 0.77 proteins, and 0.07 fats. Takes 9 days to rot, 7 of which are spent fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 3.

One fresh Zucchini gives -10 Hunger and Thirst, and nutritionally provides 33 calories, 6.10 carbs, 2.37 proteins, and 0.63 fats, and takes 14 days to rot, 6 of which are spent fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 8.

One fresh ear of corn provides -14 Hunger, -4 Thirst, and nutritionally has 88 calories, 26.74 carbs, 4.68 proteins, and 1.93 fats, and takes 8 days to rot, 5 of which are spent fresh. Cannot be farmed in B41, but will be growable in B42. Can apparently be foraged, though the wiki does not say for sure whether or not this is the case. Presumably, it can be foraged at level 8 like most of the other 'high-end' vegetables.

Alternatively known as White Radishes. Provides -12 Hunger and -5 Thirst, and nutritionally provides 54 calories, 12.59 carbs, 1.34 proteins, and 0.27 fats. Takes 8 days to rot, 5 of which are spent fresh. Can be found in foraging at level 5.

The fruit category is much more limited in terms of what you can cultivate, though there are some standout items that you may want to keep an eye out for due to wanting to make a certain dish, or for their nutritional value.

One fresh Avocado gives -15 Hunger, -7 Thirst, and nutritionally provides 227 calories, 11.75 carbs, 2.67 proteins, and 20.96 fats, and takes 14 days to rot, 6 of which are spent as fresh. Can be foraged at level 8.

One whole fresh Watermelon provides -60 Hunger and -140 Thirst, and nutritionally has 1,355 calories, 341.11 carbs, 27.56 proteins, and 6.78 fats, and rots in 8 days, 6 of which are spent fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 10. Can also be sliced or smashed, which divides the Watermelon's nutritional value into tenths or fifths, respectively.

Spongebob's house provides -25 Hunger, -13 Thirst, and nutritionally has 452 calories, 118.7 carbs, 4.89 proteins, and 1.09 fats, and rots in 14 days, spending 6 of them fresh. Can be foraged at level 10.

Pumpkins provide -40 Hunger and provide 404 calories, 20.45 carbs, 34.53 proteins, and 20.61 fats, and rot in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Can also be turned into a Jack-o'-lantern with a knife, which is statistically identical but is cool for decoration. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 7.

Tomatoes are one of two fruits that can be cultivated, with the other being Strawberries. One fresh tomato gives -12 Hunger, -15 Thirst, and nutritionally has 14 calories, 3.53 carbs, 1.29 proteins, and 0.21 fats, and rots in 12 days, spending 4 of them fresh. Tomato crops take 24 days to become ready for harvest, and do not have a seed bearing phase.

Fresh Strawberries give -5 Hunger, -5 Thirst, and nutritionally provide 4 calories, 0.92 carbs, 0.08 proteins, and 0.04 fats, and take 5 days to rot, spending 2 of them fresh. Strawberry crops take 28 days to harvest, and an additional 5 days to become seed bearing. Can also be foraged at level 8. Not very good, IMO.

One fresh Apple gives -15 Hunger, -7 Thirst, and nutritionally provides 95 calories, 25.13 carbs, 0.47 proteins, and 0.31 fats, and rots in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 7.

One fresh Orange gives -12 Hunger, -8 Thirst, and nutritionally provides 65 calories, 16.27 carbs, 1 protein, and 0.3 fats., and rots in 9 days, spending 6 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 5.

A fresh Lemon provides -10 Hunger, -5 Thirst, and has 17 calories, 5.41 carbs, 0.64 proteins, and 0.17 fats, and rots in 9 days, spending 7 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 6.

A fresh Peach gives -12 Hunger, -5 Thirst, and has 58 calories, 14.31 carbs, 1.36 proteins, and 0.38 fats, and will rot in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 8.

A fresh Pear gives -15 Hunger and -7 Thirst, as well as 114 calories, 30 carbs, 0.8 proteins, and 0.2 fats, and will rot in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 8.

A fresh Grapefruit gives -20 Hunger and -50 Thirst, and has 15 calories, 101.11 carbs, 17.56 proteins, and 3.78 fats, and will rot in 8 days, spending 6 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 8.

The funny penis plant gives -15 Hunger, -9 Thirst, 114 calories, 26.93 carbs, 4.49 proteins, and 0.82 fats, and rots in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 8.

Bananas give -17 Hunger, -5 Thirst, and have a nutritional value of 105 calories, 26.95 carbs, 1.29 proteins, and 0.39 fats, and rot in 7 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be found through foraging at level 9.

A fresh Lime gives -10 Hunger, -5 Thirst, and has a nutritional value of 17 calories, 5.41 carbs, 0.64 proteins, and 0.17 fats, and rots in 9 days, spending 7 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 6.

Fresh Grapes provide -15 Hunger, -5 Thirst, 62 calories, 15.78 carbs, 0.58 proteins, and 0.32 fats, and will spoil in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 7.

A fresh Cherry provides -3 Hunger, -1 Thirst, 5 calories, 1.31 carbs, and 0.09 proteins. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 4. Goes bad in 9 days, spending 4 of them fresh.

A fresh Mango gives -20 Hunger, -13 Thirst, 252 calories, 78.7 carbs, 3.89 proteins, and 1.09 fats, and will spoil in 14 days, spending 6 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 7.

A fresh Habanero gives -2 Hunger, 15 calories, and 0.21 fats, and will spoil in 8 days, spending 5 of them fresh. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 6.

Jalapeno peppers have identical statistics to Habanero peppers. Cannot be farmed, but can be foraged at level 6.

There are several different varieties of berry within Project Zomboid which have a randomly generated chance of being poisonous on any given save. Inferior berries can be found at all levels of foraging that provide -5 hunger, with 12 calories, 3 carbs, and 2 proteins, while superior ones can be found at level 2 foraging that provide -10 hunger, with 23 calories, 5 carbs, and 4 proteins. The only way to know which berries are poisonous in your save is to read The Herbalist. Both varieties spoil in 10 days, spending 6 of them fresh.

Mushrooms are another random foraging item that can be found at all levels, and, like berries, have a chance of being poisonous. The lighter variations have -13 Hunger, -1 Thirst, 30 calories, 0.24 fats, 2.04 carbs, and 2.12 proteins, while the slightly better ones have -15 Hunger, -1 Thirst, 32 calories, 0.32 fats, 2.36 carbs, and 2.56 proteins. All variations spoil in 4 days, spending 3 of them fresh.

Ingredients in Zomboid are not just limited to meats, veggies, and fruits - you are also offered plenty of spices and condiments to add to recipes, or chug down if you really need calories. Note that eating spices and condiments directly usually increases unhappiness significantly.

Ketchup provides -20 Hunger, has 1,480 calories, and 370 carbs.

Mustard provides -20 Hunger and has 510 calories.

Marinara provides -20 Hunger, 350 calories, 55 carbs, 10 proteins, and 7.5 fats.

Mayonnaise provides -30 Hunger, 3000 calories, and 330 fats, and spoils in 13 days, 10 of which are spent fresh.

Salt and Pepper both provide -10 Hunger and give you 20 Thirst. They have no nutritional value.

Hot Sauce provides -15 Hunger, 430 calories, and 270 carbs.

Maple Syrup provides -45 Hunger, -20 Unhappiness, 1,100 calories, and 270 carbs. Can only be used on waffles and pancakes.

Olive Oil provides -30 Hunger, 2,480 calories, and 150 fats.

Rice Vinegar provides -20 Hunger and 20 calories.

Soy Sauce gives you -10 Hunger, adds 40 Thirst, and has 20 calories.

Sugar gives -30 Hunger, 387 calories, and 100 carbs.

Brown Sugar gives -30 Hunger, 337 calories, and 90 carbs.

A Sugar Packet gives -1 Hunger, 11 calories, and 3 carbs.

Vegetable Oil gives -30 Hunger, 2,120 calories, and 130 fats.

Wasabi has no nutritional value, -10 Hunger, and gives you 20 Thirst.

Gravy is made with Gravy Mix, Water, a bowl, and a fork, spatula, or spoon. Provides -7 Hunger, 79 calories, 5 carbs, 2 proteins, and 6 fats, and rots in 7 days, spending 4 of them fresh.

Honey provides -20 Hunger, 660 calories, and 187 carbs.

Margarine provides -24 Hunger, 3,255 calories, 4 carbs, 1 protein, 368 fats, and gives +20 Unhappiness.

Peanut Butter gives -25 Hunger and provides 2,660 calories, 128 carbs, 84 proteins, 224 fats, and -15 Unhappiness.

Tomato Paste gives -15 Hunger, 120 calories, 32 carbs, 8 fats, and 20 Unhappiness.

A Bouillon Cube gives -3 Hunger, +5 Thirst, 16 calories, 2.3 carbs, 0.6 protein, and 0.5 fats.

Perishables are real goodies. They never expire unless opened, and provide access to certain things that are currently inaccessible past expiration (Milk and non-trapped meats, primarily). Generally, they're best used as emergency rations for when ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan. Do note that virtually all canned goods require a Can Opener, barring a few exceptions.

A can of beans provides -24 Hunger, 170 calories, 33 carbs, 7 proteins, 1 fat, and +10 Unhappiness unless used in a Bowl of Beans or evolved cooking recipe. Rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of carrots provides -12 Hunger, -4 Thirst, 10.5 calories, and 28 carbs. Rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of chili provides -16 Hunger, 260 calories, 33 carbs, 16 proteins, and 7 fats. Rots in 5 days when opened.

A can of evaporated milk provides -10 Hunger, -10 Thirst, 110 calories, 13 carbs, 8 proteins, and 2.5 fats. Rots in a week when opened.

A can of corn provides -16 Hunger, 315 calories, 70 carbs, 7 proteins, 1.75 fats, and rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of corned beef provides -24 Hunger, 720 Calories, 78 proteins, 48 fats, and rots in 4 days. Does not require a can opener to access.

A canned fruit beverage provides -15 Hunger, -85 Thirst, 250 calories, 10 proteins, 24 fats, and -10 Unhappiness. When opened, takes 5 days to go stale, and then a week to rot fully.

A canned fruit cocktail provides -15 Hunger, 260 calories, 33 carbs, 16 proteins, 7 fats, -10 Unhappiness. Rots in a week when opened.

A can of mushroom soup provides -10 Hunger, -4 Thirst, 160 calories, 19 carbs, 3 proteins, 8 fats, and rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of peaches provides -15 Hunger, 250 calories, 30 carbs, 10 proteins, 24 fats, and -10 Unhappiness. Rots in a week when opened.

A can of peas provides -16 Hunger, -3 Thirst, 280 calories, 52.5 carbs, 14 proteins, and rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of pineapples provides -15 Hunger, 250 calories, 10 proteins, 24 fats, and -10 Unhappiness. Rots in a week when opened.

A can of potatoes provides -18 Hunger, -7 Thirst, 175 calories, 35 carbs, and 2.5 proteins. Rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of sardines provides -14 Hunger, 150 calories, 14 proteins, and 11 fats. Rots in 4 days when opened, and does not require a can opener.

A can of vegetable soup provides -25 Hunger, 125 calories, 20 carbs, 7.5 proteins, and 2.5 fats. Rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of spaghetti bolognese provides -24 Hunger, 540 calories, 68 carbs, 18 proteins, and 22 fats. Rots in 5 days when opened.

A can of tomatoes provides -12 Hunger, -8 Thirst, 90 calories, 18 carbs, and 3 proteins. Rots in 4 days when opened.

A can of tuna provides -18 Hunger, 370 calories, 15 proteins, and 34 fats. Rots in 4 days when opened, and does not require a can opener.

A can of dog food provides -30 Hunger, 498 calories, 77.56 carbs, 16.04 proteins, 12.58 fats, and +50 Unhappiness. Rots in a week when opened.

Reserved.

Reserved for when Build 42 comes out. Ignore this section until then.

Now that you've (hopefully) memorized the above list of produce, you probably think you're good, right? Just farm crops until the end of time and you'll never starve. Except, you'll still be starving to death, just much slower than if you never ate at all. You see, Project Zomboid has a functioning nutritional system that accounts for your body's nutritional needs - too few calories and other nutrients, and you'll starve to death, even if you eat well off of vegetables. It's a simple fact of life that one cannot live solely off of vegetables and fruits simply due to how little they contribute to your overall caloric intake. Therefore, the solution to this problem is to get your hands on actual meat.

Early game, this isn't so hard - if you built your character right you should be stuffing your face with high calorie foods to gain your weight back anyways and collecting whatever meat you can find for when you don't want to eat an entire stick of butter but still preserve your weight. However, that supply is limited - it'll eventually rot away and be useless except as compost or as a level 10 cook, who can salvage it somehow. You *will* need a reliable source of meat, and you have two options at the moment - Trapping, and Fishing.

Fishing is less involved than Trapping is - all you need is a Fishing Rod (crafted or looted), spare twine or fishing lines, bait (worms and small bait fish are the best) and access to a body of water. You just need to right click the water and wait, and you'll eventually catch fish. Note that this is going to be changed in Build 42, as Aiterion is working on an update to the system to make it much more involved. I will update the guide appropriately once B42 rolls around.

Fish that are on the larger end of the size scale, namely the Pike, Bass, and Trout, can provide twice as much nutrition than even the largest Rabbit, and you don't have to put nearly as much work in to get them. Additionally, filleting fish gives you two pieces of fish fillet from any given fish, splitting the nutrition between the two fillets evenly, allowing you to portion your supply and more effectively preserve it. Note that presumably for balance reasons, a filleted fish will spoil much faster, at 4 days, spending 2 of them fresh.

Trapping is the other method of getting meat, and is a much more involved process compared to Fishing, and the main prize is Rabbits, as they have the highest nutritional value of all animals you can get from Trapping. Squirrels are a close second, followed by Rats, Mice, and Birds. You will need bait, but unlike Fishing, you can't just dig for worms endlessly - you will need produce of some kind - the best types were covered up in the Vegetable section, which if you need a reminder, was Carrots with the highest modifier to attract Rabbits at the cost of being a pain in the ass to grow, Cabbage, which isn't as much of a pain, but goes bad quick, and Lettuce, which can only be foraged once the worldspawn Lettuce goes bad.

As for actually catching Rabbit, you'll need a higher end trap to get the best chance at doing so - this would be the metal cage trap placed in either Forest foraging zones, or Deep Forest. Rabbits are also nocturnal, so the only window you have to catch them is 19:00 to about 5:00. It's a lot of setup, but ultimately the reward *is* worth it. Do note that you should check your traps every now and again, because leaving them be for more than a day will cause the trap to break. As with filleted fish, butchered animals will rot in 4 days, spending 2 of them fresh.

Newly introduced in Build 42 is the ability to freely hunt wild animals. While trapping as described above likely still works (and I haven't had the time to test for any changes), you can pick up a hunting rifle and go kill large animals like deer, pigs, sheep and cows. You need to actually manually track them and avoid making much noise (especially in the case of deer), so hunting is a combination of Aiming, Sneak, and foraging your surroundings to spot droppings easier. Once you've shot and killed an animal, you'll need to butcher it for its meat.

In Build 42, due to the fact that cooking a whole ass ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pig is unfeasible, Butchering has become an actual proper skill in the game. Skill books are currently implemented, but as far as I'm aware the only way to level it is through manual experience by butchering animals (and likely filleting fish). What this functionally does is increase the meat yield you gain from butchering meat as you level up.

It's important to note that at low levels, you lose a LOT of meat from large animals. B42 is still very new so I don't know the exact numbers for when animal butchering gets better per animal, but as a general rule of thumb it's best to train on small game animals like rabbits and chickens, as these can still provide a lot of meat at low skill levels.

You've got fruits, vegetables, and a supply of meat. After all that setup, you can FINALLY begin to actually cook your meals, and get ready, because Zomboid pulls no punches in letting you make the most absolutely VILE meals possible. If you can think of something, odds are you can make it in Zomboid. Everything in this section is what Zomboid refers to as an 'evolved recipe', and is subject to modifiers from your Cooking skill.

Remember how in The Cook Show, the host of the show mentioned that when making Soups and Stews that it doesn't matter if anything is stale? That wasn't a throwaway line - that's an actual mechanic, and it doesn't just apply to soups - if you use a stale item in a cooking recipe, it *will* be treated as if it were Fresh. If you have stale ingredients on you, one of the best things to do with them is turn them into a Soup or a Stew. The main difference between the two is that Soups are fairly limited on what meats can go into the Soup, limiting it to mainly just game you catch from Trapping and Fish Fillets, while Stews are much more liberal with what kind of meats can go in, at the cost of a few different vegetables. If you have bowls, you can also portion stews and soups into either 2 or 4 bowls, which divides their contents evenly. Soups take 50 minutes to cook, Stews take 70. Both can accept a maximum of 6 ingredients, alongside spices.

Salads come in two varieties; Fruit Salads and regular Salads. As expected, they're very light on calories and good if you're trying to watch your weight in-game, though they spoil quickly. They can be created by right-clicking a bowl and choosing either option. The main difference is the ingredients - Fruit Salads can *only* accept fruits as ingredients, while regular Salads can accept vegetables, spices, and even certain meats provided they were cooked beforehand. Both Salads can accept a maximum of 6 ingredients.

Stir-Fry and Roasted Vegetables are created from right clicking a Frying Pan or a Roasting Pan (roasted vegetables only). The ingredients are largely the same, though Stir-Fry accepts tofu, canned corned beef, canned sardines, canned tuna, and ramen noodles, while Roasted Vegetables do not. Accepts a maximum of 6 ingredients and spices.

Sandwiches and Burgers are crafted by right-clicking a slice of bread, and both can accept a maximum of 4 ingredients and spices. The main difference is that Sandwiches are made cold and cannot be cooked, while Burgers must be cooked to gain the full benefit. Ingredient wise, Sandwiches can use beef jerky, cooked salmon, avocados, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, canned carrots, canned corned beef, canned sardines, tinned tuna, butter, peanut butter, and honey as ingredients, while burgers cannot. Burgers can use meat patties, steaks, corn, radish, tofu, canned corn, pepper, and salt as ingredients, while sandwiches cannot.

Pies and Cakes are significantly more involved, as they require making your own pie and cake doughs. Pie doughs require flour, butter, and salt, as well as a rolling pin and baking pan to get started. Pies are split into two categories; Sweet Pies (American/French pie) and regular Pies (English), with the main difference being Sweet Pies obviously accepting a much sweeter variety of ingredients, while English pies take meat and vegetables. Cake batter requires flour, butter, sugar, egg, yeast, and milk, and the actual cake accepts fruits and other sweets like chocolate and honey as filling. Both accept a maximum of 4 ingredients and can be sliced.

Rice and Pasta are created by taking pasta noodles or a bag of rice and adding it to a cooking pot or saucepan with water, and then adding the ingredients on top of them. Peas, tofu, canned chili, canned peas, canned sardines, canned tuna, and peanuts can be added to Rice Pots but not Pasta Pots, while butter and cheese can be used in Pasta Pots but not Rice Pots. Both also can accept stale ingredients without transferring the negative penalties of the original stale ingredient. Both take 20 minutes to cook, and can be split into bowls like Soup and Stew.

A Hot Drink is prepared by right clicking a Mug of Water and selecting "Create Hot Drink." Accepts a maximum of three ingredients, and can take Coffee, a Tea Bag, Milk, Sugar, Honey, Brown Sugar, and Cocoa Powder. You can also add Black Sage, Common Mallow, and Lemongrass to them to make herbal teas, which transfers the medicinal properties of the plant to the drink. Not very good nutritionally, but if it's anything like the Hot/Cold Cuppa in the section below, it's basically just a magic wand to nuke your Unhappiness, Stress, and Fatigue moodles in one go. Mixed Beverages are made with either a Mug of Water or an empty tumbler, and offer largely the same ingredient choice as the Hot Drink, though Mixed Beverages can have alcohol added. Mug beverages accept 3 ingredients, while the tumbler beverage only accepts 2. You can also make beer now.

Added in B41.72. Requires two eggs and a frying pan to start. Accepts a maximum of three ingredients, as well as spices.

Added in 41.72. Preparation requires either the Chef profession or Volume 2 of Good Cooking to be read. Requires tomato paste, an empty bowl, a rolling pin, water, salt, yeast, cheese of either variety, a fork, spatula, or spoon, flour or corn flour, and olive oil or vegetable oil. Accepts ingredients that you would normally find on a pizza, and TIS were even kind enough to automatically turn Pineapple Pizza poisonous *and* spawn a horde on top of you when eaten.

The Ice Cream Cone requires Ice Cream, a cone, and a spoon, and accepts a maximum of 3 ingredients, as well as spices.

Requires a muffin tray, two eggs, butter/lard/margarine/olive oil/vegetable oil, milk, sugar of either variety, flour or corn flour, and a spoon, spatula, or fork. Only accepts one ingredient, as well as spices, and gives a batch of six when completed.

The above list of evolved recipes is not the full extent of what you can make with cooking. There are also quite a few non-evolved crafting recipes available for you to make with ingredients available to you. Several of these provide a greater nutritional value than their constituent parts. Note that this list is partially incomplete, as the Wiki has not been updated with several new non-evolved cooking recipes and I haven't been able to experiment with this aspect of cooking much.

The Pot of Soup can be crafted by taking an open can of soup and adding it to a cooking pot. A Pot of Soup provides -30 Hunger, -30 Thirst, 202 calories, 25 carbs, 14 proteins, 4.5 fats, and -20 unhappiness, and rots in 5 days, spending 3 of them fresh. Can also be split into bowls of 2 or 4. Note that this is NOT the same as the Evolved Soup recipe.

The Bowl of Beans is crafted by taking canned beans and adding them to a bowl. Statistically, it is identical to the canned beans used to craft the bowl, except it can be cooked to remove the unhappiness malus. Goes bad in 4 days, spending 2 of them fresh.

A Bowl of Cereal is crafted with cereal and milk and provides -8 Hunger, -20 Thirst, 295 calories, 71.5 carbs, 6.5 proteins, and 3.25 fats. Rots in one day.

A Bowl of Oatmeal is crafted by adding a Can of Oats to a bowl. Provides -10 Hunger, 300 calories, 81 carbs, 15 proteins, and 9 fats. Rots in one day. You can also add some additional ingredients to it, but I don't have a list on hand.

Fish Sushi is made by adding rice to either a saucepan or a pot, having either salmon or fish fillet in your inventory, and then selecting 'Make Fish Sushi' in the right click menu. Provides -12 Hunger, 19 calories, 5 carbs, 10 proteins, and rots in two days, spending both of them fresh.

Pancakes can be crafted with Pancake Mix, an empty bowl, 2 units of water, and a fork, spoon, or spatula. Cooked pancakes can have maple syrup, butter, margarine, marmalade, and fruit jam added to them. Provides -20 Hunger, 210 calories, 42 carbs, 6 proteins, 2 fats, and -10 Unhappiness, and rots in 5 days, spending 3 of them fresh.

Cold Cuppas are made with either tea or coffee, a kettle of water, an empty mug, and sugar, while Hot Cuppas are the same with the exception that they require a heat source. They provide -5 Hunger, -50 Thirst, 4 calories, 0.75 carbs, 0.12 proteins. Hot Cuppas give additional benefits in the form of -5 Unhappiness, -10 Stress, and -5 Fatigue, while the Cold Cuppa just gives you 5 Unhappiness. Does not spoil. Hot Drinks are generally better since they're more versatile.

Recipe added in 41.72 but I don't know the parts. Gives -10 Hunger, 25 calories, 12 carbs, 18 proteins, 4 fats, and rots in 4 days, spending 2 of them fresh.

Bread is kind of a pain in the ass to come by once the supply rots since, unmodded, you'll only have a limited supply of yeast, salt and flour. Regardless, a loaf of bread provides -30 Hunger, 532 calories, 99 carbs, 17.7 proteins, and 6.66 fats, and rots in 6 days, spending 3 of them fresh. Can be crafted with water, flour, salt, yeast, and a rolling pan to make the dough, which then needs to be baked. Bread can also have things like chocolate put inside.

Statistically identical to regular bread, except it provides -29 Hunger instead of -30.

Made with a muffin tray. Requires water, flour, salt, baking soda, a mixing tool, and either butter, lard, margarine, olive oil, or vegetable oil. Provides -5 Hunger, 160 calories, 22 carbs, 1 protein, and 8 fats, and rots in 5 days, spending 3 of them fresh.

You can make meat patties if you have ground beef on hand. Provides -40 Hunger, 380 calories, 46 proteins, and 30 fats, and rots in 4 days, spending 2 of them fresh.

Requires a baking sheet, and there are five different varieties of cookie to make - Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, Oatmeal, Shortbread, and Sugar Cookies. Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, Oatmeal, and Sugar cookies are largely identical in crafting, requiring flour, a bowl, a rolling pin, water, baking soda, a mixing tool, sugar, eggs, and butter or some other type of oil, while Shortbread takes butter instead of baking soda and does not need eggs. The difference is in the extra ingredient - Chocolate Chip requires chocolate chips, Chocolate requires cocoa powder, Oatmeal requires a can of oats, and Shortbread and Sugar Cookies do not need an extra ingredient beyond the baseline.

If you've got enough of a supply going, there's probably going to come a point where you actually have a surplus of food that you can't possibly eat all at once, and you'll need some form of long-term storage en-masse. Some people say that you should never have a surplus, as it's just going to go to waste. Those people should gargle my sack.
Anyways, Zomboid provides one option that is universal, and one that is limited to vegetables in regards to preserving stuff.

Freezing is your first option when it comes to food preservation, and is best used for preserving meat (ie, stocking up for winter). Standard fridges have a freezer, but capacity is typically very limited, which is why most people grab an ice freezer (pictured left) to store large quantities of meat. These can usually be found at gas stations and are very good at their job.

Canning and jarring is your second option, and can only be used to preserve vegetables. All canned/jarred vegetables spoil in 90 days, spending 60 of them fresh. In order to can/jar vegetables, you need a jar and a jar lid, which are both extremely rare to even find, vinegar, and sugar. Once jarred, the jar must be cooked to keep it fresh for 60 days, otherwise, the vegetable rots in its usual time. Kind of a pain to get going and is generally decided by the community at large to be not worth it, which I agree with except in the case of storing large quantities of vegetables for winter. If you're playing multiplayer on a roleplaying server, canned/jarred vegetables might come in handy as a bartering item, but that's on you to figure out, not me.

Having wanted a more expansive cooking system in Zomboid, as well as a hunting system, I was intrigued by La Gourmet Revolution's offerings. Unfortunately, La Gourmet Revolution goes way past overboard, changes too much, and basically ruins everything it touches. Farming is changed to require grinding to get to other crops (WHY?!?!), has a new disease type (Devil's Water Fungus, which despite the name being from the base game, is apparently aphids according to Snake) that can only be cured with an EXTREMELY RARE SPAWNING ITEM IN MEDICAL CABINETS, which is horrific given how frequently the disease spawns, has an undercooked Hunting mechanic that is annoying to grind, does nothing but spawn bears that play the jumpscare sound effect and panic your character (unironically the worst aspect of actually hunting) and perhaps much worse in that you just do nothing but waste ammo, and even if you *do* bag an animal, the meat won't be worth it nutritionally since the chops are all like, 170 calories, which is much less than even vanilla meats like steaks, mutton chops, and meat patties. LGR also messes with tailoring for absolutely no reason, making it even more of a grind. There is also the problem of Snake being an ESL, meaning his modpack is poorly translated into English, and even more poorly documented.

I strongly recommend AGAINST touching La Gourmet Revolution, or even Snake's Modpack as a whole. It is simply not worth the frustration of dealing with the poorly explained mess that is this modpack.

This may come as a surprise, but Coolers in Zomboid don't actually keep things cool. It's kind of annoying, actually. One of the first things I did was install a mod that made them functional, so that way I could carry them around when I intend on getting fresh food from the wild/traps/fishing (fruits, veggies, or meat) so that they don't spoil as fast. Pick one at your own leisure - there's like, five of them.

La Gourmet Revolution suckered me in with sweet temptations of excellent cooking and very well made systems until TIS got around to them, only to take a huge dump in my mouth. All American Apocalypse lures you in with much the same, but instead of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in your mouth, it stuffs it full of real burgers, hot dogs, french fries, fresh ice cream, milkshakes, and so much more that are not only balanced around the vanilla values (as in, not stupidly under- or over-powered), but doesn't significantly screw with systems that it shouldn't for the sake of realism or because the mod author is a moron and can't stop expanding his scope. It's what LGR *should* be, but isn't, because Snake can't make something good to save his life. AAA is very good and I would absolutely suggest you install it next playthrough.

Soul Filcher has a very good track record of making mods that are pretty good, and Farming Time and Cooking Time are no exception. Cooking Time adds more recipes that complement AAA, while Farming Time allows you to farm fruits and vegetables that you would otherwise have to forage, and also provides some new crops like wheat, which is a renewable source of flour. Very good mods, would suggest installing both of them ASAP.