Loading...
Loading...
Cooking Ingredients
February 24, 2026 at 06:37 AM
New article: Cooking Ingredients pipeline covering the Separator, all processing stations, input-to-output mappings, and profit strategies
Most cooking recipes in Starsand Island require processed base ingredients rather than raw crops. The Separator is the central processing station that converts raw materials — crops, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and insects — into seven base cooking ingredients. An eighth base ingredient, Fine Salt, comes from the Charcoal Kiln. Together, these eight ingredients form the foundation of the entire cooking system.
Beyond base ingredients, additional processing stations (Brewing Barrel, Jam Maker, Pickling Jar, Grinder) produce condiments, jams, pickled goods, and rice. Understanding how raw materials flow through these stations into finished dishes is the key to efficient cooking and maximising profit from your farm output.
The Separator is the most important processing station in the game. It processes items instantly — no waiting time required. Place raw materials in and receive the output immediately. This makes it uniquely efficient compared to every other processing station, which all require real in-game time.
Detail | Info |
|---|---|
Blueprint source | Free Equipment Blueprint Pack from the register at Zerine's General Store |
Build station | Worktable |
Materials | 3 Stone, 3 Softwood, 5 Fiber |
Profession | Crafter (starter tier) |
The Equipment Blueprint Pack also includes blueprints for the Charcoal Kiln, Furnace I, and Cutter I. Pick it up from Zerine's store as soon as you start the game.
The Separator produces seven of the eight base cooking ingredients. Each output accepts specific raw material categories:
Output | Input | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Flour | Wheat | Only Wheat works. Used in noodles, dumplings, pastries, and bread. |
Sugar | Beetroot or Sugarcane | Two possible source crops. Used in jams, desserts, and some drinks. |
Vegetable Juice | Any vegetable (Cabbage, Carrot, Cucumber, Leek, Water Spinach, Pumpkin, Cherry Radish, Winter Melon, Potato, Corn, etc.) | Flexible — any vegetable crop works. Use your cheapest or most abundant. |
Fruit Pulp | Any fruit (Apple, Banana, Orange, Watermelon, Grapes, Lychee, Snow Pear, Star Mango, Star Plum, Persimmon, Pineapple, Cherry Tomato, Blueberry, Strawberry, etc.) | Flexible — any fruit works. Also used in livestock feed (Cattle Feed, Sheep Feed) via the Feeder. |
Protein Powder | Any bug or insect | Any caught insect works. Compact protein source for recipes. |
Meat Bites | Pork, Fowl, Mutton, or Beef | Any standard meat. Meat is purchased from Zerine's General Store. Sells for 20 Coins. |
Fish Fillet | Any fish | Any of the 105+ fish species. Used in fish-based dishes. |
Key pattern: Flour and Sugar require specific crops (Wheat for Flour; Beetroot or Sugarcane for Sugar). All other Separator products accept any item within their category. Use your cheapest vegetables for Vegetable Juice and your cheapest fruit for Fruit Pulp rather than wasting high-value crops.
The eighth base ingredient, Fine Salt, is produced at the Charcoal Kiln — not the Separator. Combine 1 Salt Brick + 1 Fiber at the Charcoal Kiln. Salt Bricks are mined from deposits in the Moonlit Forest. Fine Salt is used in many cooking recipes and is also required for the Pickling Jar.
Beyond the Separator and Charcoal Kiln, several other stations process raw materials into advanced ingredients:
Station | Function | Processing time | Blueprint source | Profession tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Separator | Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Juice, Fruit Pulp, Protein Powder, Meat Bites, Fish Fillet | Instant | Equipment Blueprint Pack (free, General Store) | Crafter (starter) |
Charcoal Kiln | Fine Salt, Charcoal, Glue, Rubber, Moonflower Pollen, Plainberry Powder, Fluffweave Ash | Timed | Equipment Blueprint Pack (free, General Store) | Crafter (starter) |
Brewing Barrel | Cooking Oil, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Sugar | Timed | Junior Farmer | |
Jam Maker | 16 jam varieties + Spirit Fruit Pulp + Tomato Ketchup | Timed | Junior Farmer | |
Pickling Jar | 9 pickled vegetable varieties | Timed | Intermediate Farmer | |
Grinder | Rice, premium seeds | Timed | Senior Farmer | |
Campfire | Cooks meals from recipes | Timed | Tutorial quest (free) | — |
Gas Stove | Cooks meals (same as Campfire) | Timed | ||
Juicer | Drinks (Lemonade, Grape Juice, etc.) | Timed |
The Brewing Barrel ferments crops into liquid condiments used in advanced recipes:
Cooking Oil — used in stir-fries and fried dishes
Soy Sauce — used in braised and marinated dishes
Vinegar — used in pickled and sour dishes
Sugar — alternative to Separator Sugar from Beetroot/Sugarcane
The Jam Maker combines fruit + Sugar into jams. There are 16 jam varieties plus two special products:
Apple Jam, Banana Jam, Cherry Tomato Jam, Green Grape Jam, Jadelume Jam, Lychee Jam, Orange Jam, Persimmon Jam, Pineapple Jam, Red Grape Jam, Snow Pear Jam, Star Mango Jam, Star Plum Jam, Watermelon Jam, Spirit Fruit Pulp, and Tomato Ketchup. Jams sell for significantly more than raw fruit and are excellent items to sell at the Merchant Ship for doubled value.
The Pickling Jar combines vegetables + Fine Salt into pickled goods. There are 9 varieties:
Pickled Cabbage, Pickled Carrot, Pickled Cherry Radish, Pickled Cucumber, Pickled Leek, Pickled Pumpkin, Pickled Water Spinach, Pickled Winter Melon, and Winter Canola.
Pickled goods have the highest profit multiplier in the game when sold at the Merchant Ship. Pickling increases value by 1.85x to 2.78x, and the Merchant Ship doubles that further. This stacking effect makes pickled goods the single most profitable items to sell.
Here is how raw materials flow through processing stations into finished dishes:
Raw material | Station | Processed ingredient | Then used in |
|---|---|---|---|
Wheat | Separator | Flour | Noodles, dumplings, pastries, bread |
Beetroot / Sugarcane | Separator | Sugar | Jams (via Jam Maker), desserts, drinks |
Any vegetable | Separator | Vegetable Juice | Veggie Noodles, soups, stir-fries |
Any fruit | Separator | Fruit Pulp | Drinks, livestock feed (Feeder) |
Any insect | Separator | Protein Powder | Protein-based recipes |
Pork / Fowl / Mutton / Beef | Separator | Meat Bites | Soup Dumplings, meat dishes |
Any fish | Separator | Fish Fillet | Fish dishes, sushi |
Salt Brick + Fiber | Charcoal Kiln | Fine Salt | Many recipes, Pickling Jar input |
Crops | Brewing Barrel | Cooking Oil, Soy Sauce, Vinegar | Braised, fried, and sour dishes |
Fruit + Sugar | Jam Maker | Jams (16 varieties) | Direct sale or gift |
Vegetable + Fine Salt | Pickling Jar | Pickled vegetables (9 varieties) | Direct sale (highest profit items) |
Rice crops | Grinder | Rice | Rice-based dishes |
Here are some complete chains showing how raw materials become finished dishes:
Dish | Ingredients | Processing required | Buff |
|---|---|---|---|
Plain Noodles | Flour | Wheat → Separator → Flour | Energy restoration |
Veggie Noodles | Flour + Vegetable Juice | Wheat → Flour; Vegetable → Vegetable Juice | Energy restoration |
Soup Dumplings | 2 Meat Bites + 3 Flour | Meat → Meat Bites; Wheat → Flour | +55 Energy + Forest's Gift |
Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms | 4 Fowl + 3 Mushroom + 1 Fine Salt | Salt Brick + Fiber → Charcoal Kiln → Fine Salt | +105 Energy + Battle Spirit |
Red Grape Juice | 2 Red Grape | None (Juicer, no Separator needed) | +98 Energy + Bonus Timber |
Green Grape Juice | 2 Green Grape | None (Juicer, no Separator needed) | +98 Energy + Bonus Ore |
Station | Materials |
|---|---|
Separator | 3 Stone, 3 Softwood, 5 Fiber |
Charcoal Kiln | 5 Stone |
Brewing Barrel | 6 Iron Ingot |
Jam Maker | 5 Iron Ingot, 4 Glass, 2 Gloris Crystal Core |
Processing raw crops into cooked dishes or preserved goods dramatically increases their sale value. Here is the profit hierarchy from lowest to highest:
Raw crops — lowest value. Never sell unprocessed crops if you can help it.
Separator products (Flour, Fruit Pulp, etc.) — slightly more than raw crops. Only sell these if you have massive surplus.
Cooked dishes — 1.5x to 3x raw ingredient value depending on recipe complexity. Cook everything before selling.
Jams — consistently profitable. Watermelon Jam is particularly valuable.
Pickled goods — 1.85x to 2.78x multiplier over raw vegetables. The best processed goods for sale.
Pickled goods at the Merchant Ship — the ultimate combination. Pickling multiplier stacked with the Merchant Ship's 200% sell rate produces the highest returns in the game.
Build the Separator immediately. The blueprint is free from the Equipment Blueprint Pack at Zerine's General Store. The materials (3 Stone, 3 Softwood, 5 Fiber) are trivial.
Place the Separator near your cooking stations. Group the Separator, Campfire, Charcoal Kiln, and later the Brewing Barrel, Jam Maker, and Pickling Jar together for efficient workflows.
Farm Wheat and Sugarcane early. Wheat (all-season, 18-hour growth) is the foundation for Flour. Sugarcane (all-season, 3.5-day growth) produces Sugar. Both appear in the most recipes.
Use cheap crops for flexible inputs. Vegetable Juice and Fruit Pulp accept any vegetable or fruit. Use your cheapest or most abundant crops rather than high-value ones.
Stockpile base ingredients. Since the Separator is instant, process raw materials into Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Juice, Fruit Pulp, Meat Bites, and Fish Fillet in bulk. Having these on hand lets you cook any recipe on demand.
Build multiple timed stations. Campfires, Charcoal Kilns, and Grinders take real time. Two or three of each running in parallel dramatically increases throughput.
Prioritise Pickling for profit. Pickled goods have the highest profit margin of any processed item. Rush the Intermediate Farmer tier to unlock the Pickling Jar.
Sell processed goods at the Merchant Ship. The Merchant Ship pays 200% of normal value. Pickling + Merchant Ship is the most profitable combination in the game.
Lemonade is a strong money-maker. Lemons + Sugarcane through the Juicer produces Lemonade that sells for around 750 Coins each.
