Don't Starve is a quirky survival game that places players in a hostile wilderness where the title is their only instruction. The game can be played alone or with friends, and each time a player dies they will gain experience for unlocking new characters to use in future games.

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One of the most useful items in the game is the Crock Pot which allows players to turn food into meals that can restore hunger points, HP, or Sanity. Meals are often much more powerful than their individual ingredients and also take much longer to expire, making it possible to always save them for a rainy day if needed.

10 Trail Mix Is Great For Long Journeys

Players Can Chop Done Birch Trees For Wood And Birchnuts In Don't Starve

The environment of Don't Starve is as hostile as it is beautiful. As well as monsters, poisonous mushrooms, and swarms of angry wildlife, food can also expire after a set number of days making it toxic to consume.

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Trail mix requires Birchnuts and any combination of twigs and berries in the other three slots. This recipe is useful for traveling long distances through the game's expansive wilderness, as it lasts up to 15 days and can be easily made from natural resources found in a single biome. Players will need to have the Reign of Giants DLC in order to find Birchnuts for making this tasty snack.

9 Create A Butterfly Farm To Make Waffles

Bee And Butterfly Farms Can Provide Honey And Butter In Don't Starve

Each meal players can make in their Crock Pot has its own effects. While some foods will simply restore hunger points, others can restore health and even sanity. In order to prevent wasting food, especially when it comes to valuable recipes that use rare ingredients, players should schedule their meals to maximize stat recovery.

Waffles offer the most HP recovery of any dish in the game, regaining 60 hp. Unfortunately, they require butter which can only be obtained as a rare drop from butterflies. Even if players do create a base with a butterfly farm, the yield will probably still be too low for players to cook waffles regularly.

8 Boost Wigfrid's Sanity With Jelly Salads

Even The Carnivorous Wigfrid Will Tuck Into Leafy meat In Don't Starve

There are 23 playable characters in Don't Starve and its 3 DLCs. Each of the characters has their own perks. However, some come with drawbacks as well. Wigfrid is a character who excels in combat but she is restricted to only eating meat, making it hard to find food in the early game.

Since her dietary restriction prevents her from eating ice cream, there aren't many foods Wigfrid can eat to restore her lost sanity. Jelly salad is made from leafy meat and honey and is one of the only sanity-boosting foods Wigfrid will consume. This food can also be useful for other characters as well if they are struggling to find the necessary dairy products required to make ice cream.

7 Bacon And Eggs Can Be Stored For A Very Long Time

Birdcages Are Required To Gather Eggs In Don't Starve

The Crock Pot's main benefit is its versatility. For many recipes, players will be able to use any type of meat, fruit, or vegetable they can find, and extra slots can be filled with twigs if necessary.

Bacon and eggs can be made from any meats and up to two eggs. This food restores 75 hunger points and 20 HP. Furthermore, this dish can be stored for up to 20 days without going rotten. In order to have enough eggs for this meal players will need to build a base with a birdcage.

6 Mandrake Soup Is A Healthy Use For A Rare Ingredient

Players Will Want To Build Chests In Don't Starve For Storing Their Rare Items

Some resources in Don't Starve are easier to find than others, and several of the materials required to build useful machines and equipment are incredibly difficult to find. When players find their first mandrake they should keep it for making a pan flute, which can be used to put creatures to sleep.

If there are multiple mandrakes, players may want to make some of their spare ones into a hearty soup that recovers 150 hunger points and up to 100 HP. Since the main ingredient is so rare, players should only use this soup in an emergency to make the most of its exceptional qualities.

5 Dragon Pie Is A Veg Based Meal That's Easy To Make Regularly

Dragon Fruit Is Easy To Farm In Don't Starve

While meat-based dishes are often the most filling, there are benefits to not eating meat in Don't Starve. One reason to stick to fruit and vegetables is if the player encounters Bunnymen. Like Pigmen, these creatures can actually be befriended, although if the player is carrying any meat they will instantly attack which can quickly lead to another senseless death.

Dragon pie is a filling meal that also restores 40 HP and works as one of the best alternatives to meat stew or bacon and eggs. Farming dragon fruit is relatively simple, meaning players can use this as their staple meal if they need to befriend any roaming Bunnymen.

4 Meaty Stew Can Still Be Eaten After It Expires

Boss Monsters In Don't Starve Drop Monster Meat When Killed

Once a portion of food has gone rotten it cannot be eaten without causing harm to the player. In order to make a meal in the Crock Pot, players must fill all four slots, although twigs can be used as filler to save valuable resources if necessary.

Meaty stew is made from 4 meats or 4 morsels of any variety and will restore 150 hunger points. Since it requires much more common ingredients, this stew is a great alternative to mandrake soup, although it doesn't have the same health regain potential. Meat stew can still be eaten after it has gone stale, (unless the player has started as Wickerbottom) which makes it useful for surviving long periods without a regular food supply.

3 Ice Cream Is The Best Food For Regaining Sanity

Winter Is The Hardest Season To Survive In Don't Starve

Hunger and health will be the player's first priorities when they first start Don't Starve. These stats tick down the fastest but are also regained quite easily. Sanity, on the other hand, is much harder to regain and if players go too insane they will quickly be beset by Shadow Creatures.

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Ice cream is difficult to make as it requires dairy products and ice, both of which are quite rare items. While it doesn't have much effect on hunger or health, ice cream restores 50 sanity points making it a great meal for keeping the player sane and free from shambling monstrosities.

2 Guacamole Can Be Easily Mass Produced

Moleworms Can Be Knocked Out With A Hammer And Farmed In Don't Starve

One of the most important things to know when starting Don't Starve is which biomes contain which resources. Deserts are often quite barren regions with rocks, grass, and occasionally burrowing animals such as rabbits or Moleworms.

Moleworms and cactus flesh can be combined with two twigs to make Guacamole, a food that restores a small amount of hunger and HP. Snacking on this food is a great way to survive in the desert, as it is easy to stun a Moleworm with a hammer and transport it to the desert. Once the player has a Moleworm farm they can produce as much guacamole as they can eat.

1 Surf And Turf Heals HP And Sanity

Players Can Build Boats For Exploring And Fishing In Don't Starve

Each of the characters in Don't Starve has their own favorite food that will grant them special benefits. The librarian Wickerbottom is a difficult character to master, but she is much easier to manage if players can access her favorite meal Surf and Turf.

This dish is made from 4 fish and only restores a paltry 37.5 hunger points ( 52.5 for Wickerbottom). However, surf and turf makes up for this by also recovering 60 HP and 33 sanity making it a great all-rounder meal for struggling characters.

 

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