Food preservation: Difference between revisions

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Food rots over time, there are a few factors that affect food spoilage, outside of the food's innate rot time. Foods like grain can be kept in storage vessels to increase their already long shelf life. Whereas meats have a very short shelf life.


== Food Decay ==
== Factors affecting food spoilage ==  
As of version 1.10, food no longer lasts indefinitely. A combination of game mechanics now affects the rate of food spoilage and methods players can use to preserve and store food items.
 
== Factors Affecting Food Spoilage ==  


=== Climate ===
=== Climate ===
The climate in the place you live in has an effect on the rate of food spoilage. Hot climates greatly increase the rate of decay (up to 2.5x), while very cold greatly decreases the rate (up to 0.1x). Only the climate at sea level is considered, so placing your food high up in the mountains will have no effect if the mountain is in a "hot climate". To negate the impact of a warm climate, build a cellar.
The climate in which the food is stored has an effect on the speed of food spoilage. Hot climates can increase the rate of decay up to 2.5x, while very cold ones can decreases the rate down to 0.1x. Only the climate at sea level is considered, so placing your food high up in the mountains will have no effect if the mountain is in a hot climate. To negate the impact of a warm climate, build a cellar.


=== Food Type ===
=== Food type ===
Different types of foods have different rates of spoilage
Different types of foods have different fresh times.
* Meats: Fast
{| class="wikitable"
* Vegetables: Medium
|-
* Fruit/Berries: Medium
! Food !! Fresh time, hours
* Beans: Slow
|-
* Grains: Slow
| Raw meat || 36
* Honey: (Never Decays)
|-
* Fat: (Never Decays)
| Cooked meat || 120
|-
| Cured meat || 8760
|-
| Vegetable || 504
|-
| Pumpkin || 216
|-
| Onion || 672
|-
| Cooked Cattail Root || 48
|-
| Pickled vegetable || 1800
|-
| Fruit || 48
|-
| Cranberries || 96
|-
| Soybeans || 8760
|-
| Pickled soybeans || 4320
|-
| Grains || 2160
|}


''Note that Grains, Beans and Honey do not benefit from food preservation methods currently available.''
It is interesting that, unlike other pickled items, soybeans lose fresh time, but pickled soybeans are more useful as they can be eaten unlike raw soybeans


== Food Preservation Methods ==  
== Food preservation methods ==  
Due to the different components in foods, there are different methods to preserve each type or category of food. All types of food items can be stored in the form of "meals ready to eat", but it is not always practical to cook all food items into meals. Methods that are effective to preserve types of foods (as of game version 1.11) include
Due to the different components in foods, there are different methods to preserve each type or category of food. Almost all types of food items can be stored in the form of cooked meals, but it is not always practical to cook all food items into meals. Methods that are effective to preserve foods include


* Salt Curing/Pickling (Use for Meat and Vegetables)
=== Salt curing and pickling ===
* Jam/Preserves (Use for Berries)
Curing meats only requires [[salt]], with each unit of meat needing two units of salt, i.e. 32 meat uses 64 salt. After putting in the appropriate ingredients the barrel will state what it will make in the GUI, at this point the barrel must be sealed for 480 hours.


=== Salt Curing and Picking ===
Pickling is slightly more complex, as it requires [[Water (portion)|water]] to make [[brine]]. Otherwise, the process is very similar, each veggie or legume uses one unit of brine and remains sealed for 336 hours.
To salt cure meat or pickle vegetables, you need a barrel, a bucket, fresh water, salt and the food items you want to preserve.


# Place the barrel onto a solid block
Once the food items are pickled or salt preserved, they can be kept in a basket, chest, or any other container.
# Fill the barrel with up to 5 buckets of water
# Add the required amount of salt into the input slot and wait until this converts to saltwater (brine)
# Add the items you wish to preserve and seal the barrel to begin the process (25 raw items)
# Wait 20 days to complete the "curing" process.
* ''While this process is in progress be aware that you may not open or move this barrel.''


Once the food items are pickled or salt preserved, they now require storage in a basket, chest, crock, or storage vessel.
=== Preserves and jam === <!--T:11-->
To make jam, you need a cooking pot, a bucket, [[honey]], and berries.
Berries can be stored by making jam, which is prepared in the cooking pot. See the cooking page for the [[Cooking|jam recipe]].


====Food items that benefit from Salt Curing/Pickling ====
== Food preservation containers == <!--T:13-->
* All Meat
While you can still store food in any stationary container, [[storage vessels]] are best for storing grains and vegetables. Storage vessels are fairly easy to make, requiring only clay. However, pickling is often the best in terms of longest shelf life.  
* Raw Vegetables including Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips and Cabbage
* Picking Onions yields a minor decrease in decay.
==== Where do I find salt?====
Salt may be purchased from traders or mined from salt deposits. Underground salt domes exist as Halite stone, which can be detected using the prospecting pick. Also, in desert areas one might locate salt in dried lakes close to the surface. Mined salt (Halite) must be ground into salt using the quern.
 
=== Preserves/Jam === <!--T:11-->
To make jam, you need a cooking pot, a bucket, honey, and the berries you want to preserve.
Berries can be stored by making Jam, which is prepared in the cooking pot. See the cooking page for the [[Cooking|Jam recipe]].
====Food items that benefit from Preserves/Jam ====
Currently, berries are the only fruit category food item that can be stored in this way. Saguaro fruit cannot be made into jam.
 
====Where do I get Honey? ====
Honey can be purchased from food traders, and wild hives of bees can be found in the world. For more information about apiculture in Vintage Story, see the page about [[Beekeeping|Bee keeping]]
 
== Food Preservation Containers == <!--T:13-->
While you can still store food in stationary containers, two new storage options have been added to reduce food decay, even when more advanced preservation methods are unavailable. Early in game, we often do not have the resources to pickle, salt, or preserve meats and vegetables for long term storage. In these cases, a general rule to follow is that it is best to store foods in a Storage Vessel within a Cellar (SVC) or in a Sealed Crock (SC).
 
* Meats: Decay Rapidly and are best stored as part of a prepared meal (SC)
* Vegetables: Decay at a moderate rate, Store Raw, (SVC)
* Beans: Decay Slowly, Store Dry (SVC)
* Grains: Decay Slowly, Store Dry (SVC)


=== Crocks ===  
=== Crocks ===  
Crocks are fired clay items made using the [[Clay_Forming|clay forming]] interface and must be fired before use. Meals and Pickled vegetables can be stored in crocks providing a slight reduction in food decay and is a good option for short term food storage. For long term storage, sealing the crocks with a lump of fat (which is a process like "canning") reduces decay by a factor of 10. Filled crocks may be carried in player inventories.
Four meals can be stored in [[crocks]] providing a slight reduction in food decay and is a good option for short term food storage. For long term storage, sealing the crocks with a lump of fat or wax reduces decay by a factor of 10. Filled crocks may be carried in player inventories.


=== Storage vessels ===
Storage vessels can store any unprepared food item can be stored in vessels, which provide storage benefits to grains and veggies. These vessels are good options for short and long term food storage as they reduce rotting to 75% for veggies and 50% for grains.


Filling Crocks (with meal or jam portions):
== Cellars ==
# Place the cooking pot onto a solid block
[[File:Cellar.png|425px|thumb|right|Typical layout of a cellar filled with Crocks on shelves, storage vessels, chests and 2 barrels of pickled food]]
# Place the empty crock into an active slot in your hotbar and hover over the cooking pot.
# Press the Right Mouse Button, as though you were filling a bowl from the cooking pot.
# Four meal portions will be transferred to the crock.
# When the crock has any items in it, the label will be filled with a design; empty crocks have "blank" labels.
*''Once you transfer meal portions into the crock, you cannot add additional portions of a different item, even if the crock is not completely filled.''
 
 
Emptying Crocks (sealed or unsealed):
# Place the crock onto a solid block
# Place an empty bowl into an active slot in your hotbar and hover over the crock.
# Press the Right Mouse Button, as though you were filling a bowl from the cooking pot.
*''You do not need to unseal a crock. When you remove meal portions from a crock this action removes the seal, which is not replaced unless you reseal the crock with another piece of fat.''


 
To maximize the cellar effect when you decide to create a cellar in your build:
Removing Rotten Food from Crocks:
* Build your walls from solid soil, ceramic, or stone materials.
# Q (Throw) the crock into a water source block
* Keep door count low. The best is no doors.
# The rot will float out of the crock and both items can be picked up separately
* Cellars should be no larger than 6 blocks in any direction. If the room exceeds this, it will not be recognized as a cellar.
 
 
Sealing Crocks (For Long Term Storage)
* Combine the filled crock + a piece of fat inside your crafting grid.
* When removed from the output slot the crock will be sealed, and the message "sealed" will appear in the GUI text when examining the crock.
 
 
Crocks that are filled or empty can be placed on shelves that hold 8 crocks at a time.
*''You may not access a crock when it is on a shelf, though you may read the contents while it is on a shelf.''
 
=== Storage Vessels ===
Storage Vessels are fired clay items made using the [[Clay_Forming|clay forming]] interface and must be fired before use. Any unprepared food item (not meals) can be stored in vessels, which provide storage benefits by reducing food decay rates. These vessels are good options for short and long term food storage. More information will be added to describe the uses of SV.
 
== Food Preservation Locations == <!--T:2-->
Any completely enclosed space is recognized by the game as a cellar, even if it is above ground, and will increase the shelf life of your food items.
 
=== Cellars ===
[[File:Cellar.png|425px|thumb|right|Typical layout of a cellar filled with Crocks on shelves, storage vessels, chests and 2 barrels of pickled food]]
To maximize the cellar effect when you decide to create a cellar in your build:
* Build your walls from solid soil, brick, or stone materials  
* Keep door count low. The best is no doors.
* Keep the sunlight level inside the cellar low. Artificial lights are okay.
* Cellars should be no larger than 6 x 6 x 6 blocks. If the room exceeds these dimensions, it might not be recognized as a cellar.


<!--T:3-->
<!--T:3-->
Once you have created a cellar, you can place any food either on a solid block (those that are placeable) or inside containers. All items stored in the cellar will receive equal food decay reduction. You can verify the storage benefit by looking at the block info HUD. It will display something in the likes of <code>Stored food perish speed: 0.24</code> - which in this case means food will last about 4 times longer.
Once you have created a cellar, you can place any food either on a solid block or inside containers. All items stored in the cellar will receive equal food decay reduction. You can verify the storage benefit by looking at the block info HUD. It will display something like <code>Stored food perish speed: 0.25</code> - which in this case means food will last 4 times longer.




== Effect Stacking == <!--T:20-->
== Effect stacking == <!--T:20-->


<!--T:21-->
<!--T:21-->
Food preservation benefits from methods, containers and locations ALL stack, so it is best to combine as many preservation solutions as possible.  
Food preservation benefits from methods, containers, and locations stack, so it is best to combine as many preservation solutions as possible. Generally, all food should be stored in a cellar.
''Example: Cooked or pickled (method) turnips should be stored inside a sealed crock (container) inside a fully enclosed cellar (location).''

Revision as of 15:03, 31 December 2019

Food rots over time, there are a few factors that affect food spoilage, outside of the food's innate rot time. Foods like grain can be kept in storage vessels to increase their already long shelf life. Whereas meats have a very short shelf life.

Factors affecting food spoilage

Climate

The climate in which the food is stored has an effect on the speed of food spoilage. Hot climates can increase the rate of decay up to 2.5x, while very cold ones can decreases the rate down to 0.1x. Only the climate at sea level is considered, so placing your food high up in the mountains will have no effect if the mountain is in a hot climate. To negate the impact of a warm climate, build a cellar.

Food type

Different types of foods have different fresh times.

Food Fresh time, hours
Raw meat 36
Cooked meat 120
Cured meat 8760
Vegetable 504
Pumpkin 216
Onion 672
Cooked Cattail Root 48
Pickled vegetable 1800
Fruit 48
Cranberries 96
Soybeans 8760
Pickled soybeans 4320
Grains 2160

It is interesting that, unlike other pickled items, soybeans lose fresh time, but pickled soybeans are more useful as they can be eaten unlike raw soybeans

Food preservation methods

Due to the different components in foods, there are different methods to preserve each type or category of food. Almost all types of food items can be stored in the form of cooked meals, but it is not always practical to cook all food items into meals. Methods that are effective to preserve foods include

Salt curing and pickling

Curing meats only requires salt, with each unit of meat needing two units of salt, i.e. 32 meat uses 64 salt. After putting in the appropriate ingredients the barrel will state what it will make in the GUI, at this point the barrel must be sealed for 480 hours.

Pickling is slightly more complex, as it requires water to make brine. Otherwise, the process is very similar, each veggie or legume uses one unit of brine and remains sealed for 336 hours.

Once the food items are pickled or salt preserved, they can be kept in a basket, chest, or any other container.

Preserves and jam

To make jam, you need a cooking pot, a bucket, honey, and berries. Berries can be stored by making jam, which is prepared in the cooking pot. See the cooking page for the jam recipe.

Food preservation containers

While you can still store food in any stationary container, storage vessels are best for storing grains and vegetables. Storage vessels are fairly easy to make, requiring only clay. However, pickling is often the best in terms of longest shelf life.

Crocks

Four meals can be stored in crocks providing a slight reduction in food decay and is a good option for short term food storage. For long term storage, sealing the crocks with a lump of fat or wax reduces decay by a factor of 10. Filled crocks may be carried in player inventories.

Storage vessels

Storage vessels can store any unprepared food item can be stored in vessels, which provide storage benefits to grains and veggies. These vessels are good options for short and long term food storage as they reduce rotting to 75% for veggies and 50% for grains.

Cellars

Typical layout of a cellar filled with Crocks on shelves, storage vessels, chests and 2 barrels of pickled food

To maximize the cellar effect when you decide to create a cellar in your build:

  • Build your walls from solid soil, ceramic, or stone materials.
  • Keep door count low. The best is no doors.
  • Cellars should be no larger than 6 blocks in any direction. If the room exceeds this, it will not be recognized as a cellar.

Once you have created a cellar, you can place any food either on a solid block or inside containers. All items stored in the cellar will receive equal food decay reduction. You can verify the storage benefit by looking at the block info HUD. It will display something like Stored food perish speed: 0.25 - which in this case means food will last 4 times longer.


Effect stacking

Food preservation benefits from methods, containers, and locations stack, so it is best to combine as many preservation solutions as possible. Generally, all food should be stored in a cellar.