Revision - cooking ingredients - Starsand Island Wiki

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	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	Happiness Seed Shop	Junior Farmer
Jam Maker	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.

Revision 7