Cooking Ingredients

Overview

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

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.

How to build the Separator

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.

Separator outputs

The Separator produces seven of the eight base cooking ingredients. Each output accepts specific raw material categories:

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.

Fine Salt (Charcoal Kiln)

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.

Key crop growth times

These are the most important crops for the ingredient pipeline:

Wheat is the most important crop — it grows in all seasons in only 18 hours and produces Flour, the foundation ingredient for the most recipes. Sugarcane requires a Paddy Field to grow.

All processing stations

Example recipe chains with sell prices

Complete chains showing raw materials to finished dishes, with confirmed sell prices:

The ingredient pipeline

Here is how raw materials flow through processing stations into finished dishes:

Profit strategies

Processing raw crops into cooked dishes or preserved goods dramatically increases their sale value. Here is the profit hierarchy from lowest to highest:

1. Raw crops — lowest value. Wheat sells for just 17 Coins. Never sell unprocessed crops if you can help it.

2. Separator products (Flour, Fruit Pulp, etc.) — slightly more than raw crops. Only sell these if you have massive surplus.

3. Cooked dishes — significantly more valuable. Golden Fried Rice sells for 246 Coins, Grilled Mushroom Skewers for 166 Coins.

4. Jams — consistently profitable. Watermelon Jam is particularly valuable.

5. Lemonade — approximately 750 Coins per unit via the Juicer. One of the best single items to produce.

6. Pickled goods — over 200% multiplier over raw vegetables. The best processed goods for sale.

7. 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.

Station building costs

Tips

• 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, 50 Coins per seed) is the foundation for Flour. Sugarcane (all-season, 3.5-day growth, 160 Coins per seed, requires Paddy Field) 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 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.

• Lemonade is a top money-maker. Lemons + the Juicer produces Lemonade worth approximately 750 Coins each. No Separator needed — just raw fruit and the Juicer.

• 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.