Cooking Ingredients Pipeline guide for Starsand Island: the Separator, Charcoal Kiln, Brewing Barrel, Jam Maker, Pickling Jar, and Grinder. Includes all base ingredient mappings, processing station details, crop growth times, profit strategies, and example recipe chains.
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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
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.
Separator outputs
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.
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.
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:
Crop
Growth time
Season
Seed cost
Yield
Sell price
Wheat
18 hours
All seasons
50 Coins
4
17 Coins each
Sugarcane
3 days 12 hours
All seasons
160 Coins
4
—
Beetroot
1 day
Summer, Autumn
60 Coins
4
—
Potato
—
—
—
—
33 Coins each
Watermelon
—
Summer
—
—
104 Coins each
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
Station
Function
Processing time
Blueprint source
Profession tier
Separator
Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Juice, Fruit Pulp, Protein Powder, Meat Bites, Fish Fillet
16 jam varieties + Spirit Fruit Pulp + Tomato Ketchup
Timed
Happiness Seed Shop
Junior Farmer
Pickling Jar
9 pickled vegetable varieties
15 in-game hours per unit
Happiness Seed Shop
Intermediate Farmer
Grinder
Rice, premium seeds
Timed
Happiness Seed Shop
Senior Farmer
Campfire
Cooks meals from recipes
Timed
Tutorial quest (free)
—
Gas Stove
Cooks meals (same as Campfire)
Timed
Aureleaf Kitchen
Crafter
Juicer
Drinks (Lemonade, Grape Juice, etc.)
Timed
Aureleaf Kitchen
Crafter
Example recipe chains with sell prices
Complete chains showing raw materials to finished dishes, with confirmed sell prices:
Dish
Ingredients
Sell price
Notes
Smashed Cucumber
Cucumber
127 Coins
Simple early recipe
Stir-Fried Water Spinach
Water Spinach
90 Coins
Basic vegetable dish
Grilled Mushroom Skewers
Mushroom
166 Coins
Good mid-game dish
Golden Fried Rice
Rice + Egg
246 Coins
High value, requires Grinder
Lemonade
2 Lemons (Juicer)
~750 Coins
Top money-maker — no Separator needed
Soup Dumplings
2 Meat Bites + 3 Flour
—
+55 Energy + Forest's Gift buff
Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms
4 Fowl + 3 Mushroom + 1 Fine Salt
—
+105 Energy + Battle Spirit buff
The ingredient pipeline
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
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:
Raw crops — lowest value. Wheat sells for just 17 Coins. 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 — significantly more valuable. Golden Fried Rice sells for 246 Coins, Grilled Mushroom Skewers for 166 Coins.
Jams — consistently profitable. Watermelon Jam is particularly valuable.
Lemonade — approximately 750 Coins per unit via the Juicer. One of the best single items to produce.
Pickled goods — over 200% 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.
Station building costs
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
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.