Cooking in The Legend of Zelda games, especially in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, is not just a fun side activity but a vital part of your adventure. It helps you restore health, gain buffs, and survive harsh environments. If you’ve ever wondered, “How do I cook in Zelda?”, this guide will walk you through the basics and share tips to become a culinary pro in Hyrule.
Getting Started: What You Need to Cook in Zelda
Cooking in Zelda requires two key things:
– Ingredients: These can be fruits, vegetables, meats, mushrooms, and other materials you find while exploring.
– A Cooking Pot or Open Flame: Usually, you’ll find cooking pots over a fire at campsites or villages. Sometimes, you can cook by dropping ingredients directly onto a fire.
Step-by-Step: How to Cook in Zelda
1. Find a Cooking Pot or Fire
Look for a metal pot hanging over a fire. These are scattered all over the world, especially near campsites, villages, and sometimes inside stables. If you don’t have a pot handy, you can also cook by dropping ingredients onto an open flame, but this method is limited to single-ingredient dishes like seared steak.
2. Collect Ingredients
Open your inventory and go to the Materials tab. Here, you’ll find all the ingredients you’ve gathered. You can hold up to five ingredients at a time to cook together. Select the items you want to combine and choose “Hold” to carry them.
3. Cook Your Meal
Approach the cooking pot with your held ingredients and press the interaction button (usually A). The cooking process will start automatically, and after a few seconds, you’ll get a new dish or elixir based on the ingredients you combined.
If you’re cooking over an open flame without a pot, simply drop one ingredient onto the fire. It will cook into a basic food item like seared meat.
What Can You Cook? Understanding Recipes and Effects
One of the best parts of cooking in Zelda is experimenting with different ingredients to create meals with unique effects. While there’s no in-game recipe book, here are some basics:
– Health Restoration: Most cooked meals restore hearts. Adding hearty ingredients like Hearty Radishes or Big Hearty Radishes can create dishes that fully replenish and even add temporary extra hearts.
– Buffs and Resistances: Some ingredients grant special effects like increased stamina, cold resistance, heat resistance, or stealth. For example, adding spicy peppers makes dishes that help you survive cold climates.
– Elixirs: Combining monster parts with critters like bugs or frogs creates elixirs that provide buffs such as speed or stealth.
Tips for Better Cooking
– Use meat or fish as a base for most meals, then add vegetables, herbs, or spices to enhance the effect.
– Adding more ingredients usually increases the potency or duration of the effect.
– Avoid mixing incompatible ingredients like insects with regular food, which often results in poor dishes.
– Experiment! Many recipes have multiple variations that yield similar but differently potent results.
Cooking in Tears of the Kingdom
The cooking system in Tears of the Kingdom is very similar to Breath of the Wild. You still hold ingredients in your inventory and throw them into a cooking pot over a fire. A new addition is the Zonai cooking pots, which are single-use pots found in the field, allowing you to cook on the go without returning to a campsite.
Quick Cooking Tips for Beginners
– Always keep a stack of common ingredients like apples, mushrooms, and raw meat.
– Use cooking pots in villages or campsites to combine multiple ingredients.
– If you’re low on health, cook hearty meals with Hearty Radishes or Big Hearty Radishes.
– For cold areas, cook spicy dishes to prevent freezing.
– Use elixirs for special buffs when preparing for difficult battles or long explorations.
Why Cooking Matters in Zelda
Cooking isn’t just about restoring health. It’s a strategic tool that can boost your stats, help you survive extreme weather, and prepare you for tough fights. Mastering cooking will make your journey through Hyrule much smoother and more enjoyable.
Cooking in Zelda is simple once you know the basics: find a cooking pot, hold up to five ingredients, and cook to create meals with health and buffs. Experiment with different combinations to unlock powerful recipes and enjoy your adventure to the fullest!