* The '''effectiveness''' of the food you cook is how much hunger is replenished per bite. It depends on the [[QL]], which is mainly based on your [[hot food cooking]] skill at the lower levels. Easy dishes get a boost in QL which can partially make up for lower skill.
* To raise your skill, cook small and easy dishes in bulk. The difficulty of a dish can be seen by examining the container. Note that cooking in a [[campfire]] or [[forge]] raises the difficulty; use an [[oven]] when possible.
* [[Stew]] is a good basic recipe, then moving on to [[casserole]]s. [[Meal]]s get no QL boost, so cooking them is generally a waste of resources until you have at least 20 skill.
* The '''bulk''' of the food you cook decides how many bites the dish supports. This is based simply on the weight of the ingredients.
* There are three main ways to ensure a stable supply of foodstuffs: [[hunting]], [[fishing]], and [[farming]]. Deed guards will automatically "hunt" agressive animals that enter your deed, saving you time and effort.