Hello again everyone, One of the main mechanics in Eternal Return is its crafting mechanics. Crafting includes cooking, and today’s guide talks about food and how to cook them. 

Occasionally they buff stats temporarily, but more often, they just heal. So on this list, we will be balancing them based on accessibility and restoration value. Remember that this is a food list, so beverages are for another list. We will also be removing “food” like the first aid kit since it does not look like food and does not craft into food. 

10. Fish and Chips

Fish and chips make it into the bottom of the list due to their massive regen and a massive list of materials needed to create them. It gives a good amount of EXP while crafting it, but it potentially clogs your inventory since it takes up so many items.

I never make fish and chips unless I am playing Xiukai. It is difficult to find many lighters and oil within natural spawns, but it is extremely powerful if you pick up heated oil from a wolf or a bear, as cod and potatoes are easy to find on the map. 

It is a strong combo meal but only when part of the combo is made for you. If you encounter it in a purple box, pick it up as it heals for a lot. 

What makes it good

• Regenerates 700 HP 
• Ingredients can be acquired in loot boxes
• Other Ingredients are renewable 

Ingredients needed

• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Oil is found in Avenue, Archery Range, Uptown, and Factory (rarely Bats) 
• Potatoes are found in Alley, Temple, and Pond 
• Cod is found fishing in Beach, Uptown, and Dock 

How to Make it

• Make Heated Oil (Oil + Lighter) 
• Gather potatoes and cod 
• Cook it 

In more detail, so long as your build visits the Factory, this item is relatively easy to make since you can get heated oil very quickly. If not crafting, you can get heated oil from bears and wolves if you are lucky. 

The other food items that combine into fish and chips, Fish Cutlet, and French Fries can sometimes be dropped in a blue chest, so hypothetically you do not even have to search for any of these items to make it. 

9. Hardboiled Egg

Hardboiled Egg is not exactly rocket science. Boiling an egg sounds simple enough to do, and in this game, it matches its apparent lack of difficulty.  

What makes it good

• Regenerates 525 HP
• Eggs drop from chickens (the most abundant animal) and spawn naturally
• Easy to acquire ingredients 

Ingredients needed

• Water from Temple, Pond, Cemetery, Forest, Hotel 
• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Eggs from Chickens, Cemetery, and Forest

How to Make it

• Boil the water to make it boiled water 
• Hard boil the eggs  

While the components are easy to gather, there is always that chance that you never find any eggs in Forest or Cemetery. This means that you have to hunt chickens until an egg drops. 

The good thing to note is that this item can drop from chests, both as a whole and boiled water; eggs just need to be found. The other good thing to note is that eggs are not used in any other item, so there should always be a few left. 

8. Zen Vitality

In a way, Zen vitality is one of the most powerful for natural healing. The only problem is that Tree of life only spawns on Day 1 Night and Day 2 Night afterward, they only spawn in blue chests and bear drops, so it is quite a rarity to be able to make this. 

I have never made this item in my active game life Trees of life are too rare to come by to make this item. However, I have managed to pick these off of enemies meaning that they consider this a good investment. 

It's funny because no matter how much “Zen” this item tries to portray, seeing the healing in action is genuinely spirit-breaking. 

What makes it good

• Regenerates 850HP  
• Can be acquired in loot boxes
• The most potent raw healing value

Ingredients needed

• Tree of Life from Hospital, Cemetary, Forest, Hotel, Bears (LVL 18 and higher), Wickelene
• Buddhist Scripture from Temple and Bats (Rare Drop)

How to Make it

• Just combine the two 

Much like the previous entry, this item is easy to make but hard to gather ingredients for. Even more so now than ever since the Tree of life is only guaranteed four times per game. 

While I have not seen this myself, supposedly, this item drops from purple chests. Aside from that, it is still a powerful item to heal with, especially in squads and duos, since trees of life can be farmed off of other players. 

7. Oriental Concoction 

This item packs a good punch for the more common ingredients used to create it based on traditional Chinese medicine. So long as you pass through the right areas, this is an easy grab. 

I make this a lot because I often go through Forest, and afterward, I pick up on lighters as I pass through Factory. So I can guarantee the effectiveness of this item and the ease of making it so long as it is along the way. 

Who knew ancient Chinese techniques would go this far. 

What makes it good

• Regenerates 525 HP
• Ingredients can be easily acquired 
• It comes with 3 Charges 

Ingredients needed

• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Water from Temple, Pond, Cemetery, Forest, Hotel
• Oriental Herb from Pond, Temple, and Forest 

How to Make it

• Water and lighter to make boiling water 
• Find and use Oriental herb with Boiling Water 
• Enjoy Concoction

Oriental herbs are rarely used, if at all, so more often than not, you can easily find those herbs to create the concoction. 

From experience, you will usually use up all charges of this item to the point where you want more of it just to stay alive. It might not have the highest healing amount, but for the ease of creating the food. 

6. Steak

Steak is a classic meal that everyone can enjoy. It is easy to find and accessible, and it's effective, efficient, and easy to come across. Most people know this recipe innately. 

I make this food very often, it's easy to come across meat, and heated stones are droppable and quick to make. Usually, other players also carry this food or its ingredients as everything used is varied and can be used elsewhere. 

Don't fret. Let them eat Steak. 

What makes it good

• Regenerates 500 HP 
• Ingredients are easily acquired 
• Popular among players 

Ingredients needed

• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Meat is found on wild animals except for Bats
• Stones are found anywhere

How to Make it

• Make Heated stone (Lighter + Stone)  
• Gather Meat 
• Cook it 

In all honesty, Steak is one of the most efficient foods to make because Heated Stones can be dropped by wolves, boars, and bears. I personally find it to be my favorite and go-to food to make, especially when in a pinch. 

However, to be fair with the list, the next five items are on a whole other level of efficiency. 

5. Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken is the counterpart to Steak that replaces the heated stones with heated oil. The reason that it is higher up on the list is pure because it heals for slightly more than steak.

Personally, I use this as much as I use steak. Whether by luck or design, I encounter heated oil more often than heated stones. I see the two meals as equal, but that doesn't stop me from using those lighters in this way.

I always wondered how bear meat turns into Fried Chicken.

What makes it good

• Regenerates 550 HP 
• Ingredients are easily acquired 
• Popular among players 

Ingredients needed

• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Oil is found in Avenue, Archery Range, Uptown, and Factory (rarely Bats) 
• Meat is found on wild animals except for Bats

How to Make it

• Gather heated oil (Lighter + Oil)
• Gather meat
• Cook it

This, along with steak, should be one of the first recipes you should master due to its ease of acquisition. It heals for a good amount, and its components can be scavenged from animals or loot boxes.

It is a strong recipe that occasionally runs out of oil if you spawn further away from the oil spawns. So it does have its weaknesses as a sought-after resource.

4. Rum Raisin Bread

This is the kind of recipe that you might accidentally encounter if you were just pressing the craft hotkey over and over. It can be made from zone 1 as most of the ingredients required are already in your inventory from the start of the match. It also heals for a decent amount if made.

I hate to admit that I have made this by accident on more than one occasion. However, I have also made this on purpose more than once, so it does have its merits. It heals well in a pinch and is extremely easy to create to place high on the list.

How soju and bread create raisins is beyond me.

What makes it good

• Regenerates 525 HP 
• Ingredients are spawned with you from the start
• It can be completed with one loot pickup

Ingredients needed

• Water from Temple, Pond, Cemetery, Forest, Hotel
• Bread from Hospital. School 
• Alcohol from Hospital, Factory, School 

How to Make it

• Make Soju (Alcohol + water) 
• Mix with Bread
• Enjoy

This is one of the fastest things to make in the game that heals for a solid chunk of hp in the early game. 

If you make this by accident, you won't be disappointed, and if you make this on purpose, you can hopefully use it before it falls off.

3. Stir-fried Ramen

The second go-to meal of every college student is this stir-fried ramen. It takes advantage of the fact that no one uses ramen for a hearty meal. It is also common to come across. 

I make this whenever I cannot farm wild animals consistently due to other people getting in the way or killing them before I manage to get there. It is the kind of food you need for a comeback since you want health regen while fighting. 

Learned this trick in college. 

What makes it good

• Regenerates 575 HP 
• Ingredients can be acquired in loot boxes
• Fast crafting time 

Ingredients needed

• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Oil is found in Avenue, Archery Range, Uptown, and Factory (rarely Bats) 
• Ramen is found in Dock, Temple, Factory

How to Make it

• Make Heated Oil (Oil + Lighter) 
• Chuck the ramen in 
• Consume and enjoy

Much has already been said about heated oil, so let's focus more on ramen. As an item, it is only used in creating three kinds of food, and it also has a relatively high base of healing as an essential item, so people often pick it up as their healing item. 

To conclude, this item is well worth the effort of making, and if you are lucky enough to find the things fast, it can lead you to fight early and acquire more resources. 

2. Garlic Ramen

Another Ramen dish makes it into this list as this stands at the peak of ramen dishes. It is a food that does not take too much so long as you start in the right areas, and the only item that is usually contested for is the Lighter. It is debatable one of the best food items to make right now as it goes under the radar of most players. 

I do not have the opportunity to use this often as most of my builds do not pass by areas with garlic. However, whenever I make hot ramen, I try my best to keep it until I can make garlic ramen because that 50 additional regen does matter when it comes down to it. 

Who knew adding a little bit of garlic would go a long way. 

What makes it good

• Regenerates 550 HP 
• Ingredients can be acquired in loot boxes or gathered
• Easy and massive upgrade from just hot Ramen 

Ingredients needed

• Lighters are found in Alley, School, Factory, and Dock (rarely Boars)
• Water from Temple, Pond, Cemetery, Forest, Hotel
• Ramen is found in Dock, Temple, Factory
• Garlic from Alley, Temple, Cemetery 

How to Make it

• Boil water (Lighter + Water) 
• Cook Hot Ramen (Ramen + Boiled Water) 
• Add garlic (Hot Ramen + Garlic) 
• Enjoy

It is a solid recipe that provides two charges and can stack up to 6, meaning that you can craft this three times and still have room for more. It does not have the highest healing on this list, but I think its low rarity makes up for it. 

1. Choco Pie Box

Topping this list is the Choco pie box. It's a simple item with tons of mileage due to no one using boxes and the ease of gathering chocolate and bread. It creates with two charges and heals for a fair amount so you can quickly chug both charges to keep your regen going in a long-term fight. 

Personally, this is a strong item; there isn't much else to say about it because It is strangely an item that many players do not know about, perhaps because of its out-of-the-way requirements to craft. 

Great surprises always come in boxes.

What makes it good

• Regenerates 622 HP 
• Ingredients are common and not often looted
• Fast craft and comes with two charges 

Ingredients needed

• Bread from Hospital. School 
• Chocolate from Uptown, Archery Range, Avenue 
• Boxes From Dock, Pond, Chapel

How to Make it

• Make Choco pies (Bread + Chocolate) 
• Put into boxes (Choco pie + Box) 
• Enjoy

In all seriousness, this item restores quite a lot of a two charges per creation item. It is also found in very common areas such as uptown to dock and other locations. Because of the ease of access and strength of healing, I am putting this on top of the list. 

Of course, this is just my opinion based on personal experience. If you have a different top 10 or want to talk about why certain items may or may not be on this list, please feel free to do so. 

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