How to cook guide for Zelda Breath of the Wild (BotW). Learn how to cook food, know locations where you can cook, types of Food Effects, and tips to guarantee Critical Success.
Table of Contents
Basics of How To Cook
Mix Ingredients To Make A Dish
![Include a food system](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
Cooking can be created by throwing ingredients into a pot together. Basically, the same things that we eat as food in the real world can be used as cooking ingredients.
Recipe Example
Materials | Item |
---|---|
・Fortified Pumpkin ・Tabantha Wheat ・Fresh Milk ・Goat Butter | ![]() |
First, remember to cook with five of the same ingredients. If you cook 5 of the same ingredients at once, it will be a dish that has the maximum effect (5 times) of the ingredients.
Insects And Monster Parts Can Be Used To Create Elixirs
![Medicine with Bugs and Monster Part](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
In Hyrule, it is possible to collect and cook materials that most people would not eat, such as insects and lizards. When combined with monster parts, they can become elixirs with special effects.
Recipe Example
Materials | Item |
---|---|
・Restless Cricket ・Bokoblin Horn | ![]() |
Wrong Combination Will Fail
![Cooking failure examples](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
If you do not follow the combinations above, the dish will fail. Link can get a small amount of recovery effect even if he eats it, but it won't have the original effect.
Failed Recipes
Materials | Item |
---|---|
・Fortified Pumpkin ・Tabantha Wheat ・Fresh Milk ・Goat Butter ・Restless Cricket | ![]() |
・Hylian Rice ・Topaz | ![]() |
Tips!! | The way Link eats changes depending on the food. It is interesting to see Link eat delicious food and swallow bad food at once. |
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Up To 60 Slots
The maximum slots of food in your inventory is fixed, and you can only have a maximum of 60 from the beginning to the end. It is a waste to fill the slots with Dubious Foods, so it is better to eat them quickly.
No Way To Cook Multiple Foods At Once
There is no way to make multiple foods at once. Even if you have decided what you want to make, there is no other way but to create them manually one by one.
Multiple Simple Foods Are Possible
Some cooking ingredients, such as Raw Meat, can be transformed into heat-resistant Icy Meat by leaving them on a snowy mountain for a certain time. Simple cooking, such as this, can be created all at once because all you have to do is to leave it at a specific place.
Not Very Effective
When cooking in a pot, the cooking effect is stronger, due in part to the mutual effect of the ingredients. In comparison, simple cooking cannot produce an effect greater than that of the ingredients. If you want to get a good effect, cook in a pot.
Where To Cook Food
You Can Cook From The Very Beginning If You Have A Pot
If you have a pot on the fire, you can cook all over Hyrule. Even right out of the Shrine of Resurrection, you can cook as long as you have a pot and the right ingredients.
Place | Map |
---|---|
![]() | ![]() |
▲There is also a pot in the Forest of Spirits, not far from the Shrine of Resurrection. But there are several Bokoblins along the way and you need to bring a fire.
Place | Map |
---|---|
![]() | ![]() |
▲There is another pot in front of an old man's hut near the Owa Daim Shrine. In the early stage, here is the first easy spot to cook.
Simple Cooking Is Possible With Only A Bonfire
![The scene of making grilled apples](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
Some ingredients can be cooked just by placing them on a bonfire. A great example is if you put an apple on the fire, it will become a baked apple after a certain amount of time.
It Can't Be Done Without A Fire
![Let](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
Naturally, fire is essential for cooking. If there is no fire under the pot, light it first and make preparations. Also, any way to light a fire is fine. Fire Arrows, flaming swords, flints, or even fires caused by lightning strikes can be carried by a Torch.
Rain Will Extinguish The fire.
![The fire is extinguished by the rain](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
Most cooking areas, such as horse stables and campsites, are usually under skies, and cooking is not possible on rainy days because fires cannot be lit. In such case, you should try to use a covered cooking area in the village or town.
![Village and town kitchens for cooking even on rainy days](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
▲ A covered cooking area at Kakariko Village. Cooking can be done even on rainy days if the area has a roof.
Effects of Foods And Elixirs
Only One Effect Per Food
Only one special effect can be given to each ingredient, such as the effect of recovering from the Stamella Shrooms. If you combine multiple ingredients, they will cancel each other out and become a normal dish.
Recipe Example
Material | Item |
---|---|
・Razorclaw Crab ・Ironshell Crab ・Hylian Rice ・Rock Salt | ![]() |
Originally, only using Razorclaw Crab (or Ironshell Crab) can make Mighty (Tough) Crab Omelet with Rice, but the effect disappears when both are added.
Bonus Effects List
Food Type | Bonus Effect |
---|---|
Hearty | Restores Hearts to the maximum Increases the max limit of Hearts temporarily |
Energizing | Restores Stamina Wheel |
Stamina | Restores Stamina Wheel to maximum Increases the max limit of Stamina temporarily |
Mighty | Increases Attack power Lv1:1.2 times Lv2:1.3 times Lv3:1.5 times |
Tough | Reduces damage Lv1:For 1 Heart Lv2:For 3 Hearts Lv3:For 6 Hearts |
Hasty | Increases the movement speed Lv1:About 1.2 times Lv2:About 1.3 times Lv3:About 1.4 times |
Chilly | Provides Heat Resistance Lv1:Resists heat (equivalent to 1 Heat-resistant equipment) Lv2:Withstands severe heat (equivalent to 2 Heat-resistant equipment) |
Spicy | Provides Cold Resistance Lv1:Resists cold (equivalent to 1 piece of Cold-resistant equipment) Lv2:Withstands severe cold (equivalent to 2 pieces of Cold-resistant equipment) |
Fireproof | Resistant to heat in volcanic area Lv1:Equivalent to 1 Fireproof Armor Lv2:Equivalent to 2 Fireproof Armor |
Electro | Resistant to electric attacks Lv1: |
Sneaky | Makes it difficult to make noise Lv1:Makes it difficult to be noticed by sleeping enemies when crouching Lv2:Able to catch insects when moving normally Lv3:Makes it difficult to be noticed by sleeping enemies when moving normally |
How To Guarantee Critical Success
Effects of Critical Success
![Effects of Great Success](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
- Effect level up
- Restores Hearts +3
- Extends effect duration by 5 minutes
One of the above effects will be randomly granted if a Critical Success happens. The chance of Critical Success in normal cooking is not very high, about 5-10%.
Critical Success At Red Moon (Blood Moon)
Almost all cookings will be critical success on Red Moon Day. You can obtain foods with good effects by preparing a large amount of ingredients then cooking them at once on Red Moon Day.
Mixing Dragon Material And Star Fragment Also Guarantees Critical Success
![Star fragment also has a great success](https://img.gamewith.net/assets/images/common/transparent1px.png)
Mixing valuable materials, such as Dragon materials and Star Fragment can also cause a critical success. Dragon materials are particularly special, and by mixing shards of horn with cooking materials, the effect level and duration can be increased to the maximum.
Recipe Example
Materials | Food |
---|---|
・Razorshroom ×4 ・Shard of Farosh's Horn ×1 | ![]() Mighty Effect:Lv3 Effect Time:30 Minutes |
・Fleet-Lotus Seeds ×4 ・Shard of Farosh's Horn ×1 | ![]() Hasty Effect:Lv3 Effect Time:30 Minutes |
The Music Changes When Critical Success Is Achieved
In the case of a critical success, the music changes during the cooking. If you press the X button to skip the cooking directions, it will be difficult to know if a critical success has occurred.
Tips!! | The sound effect also changes when cooking fails, so if you are interested, pay attention to listen it! |
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Ingredients Effects List
Introduces hidden effects of cooking ingredients that do not have special effects. When making Hasty, Mighty, or Tough Foods, use the following as a guide to check which ingredients to add.
Effect | Material |
---|---|
+30 Seconds | ・Raw Meat〜Raw Gourmet Meat ・Raw Bird Drumstick〜Raw Whole Bird ・Palm Fruit ・Apple ・Wildberry ・Hyrule Herb ・Hylian Shroom ・Hyrule Bass ・Snake Carp |
+40 Seconds | ・Chickaloo Tree Nut |
+50 Seconds | ・Acorn |
+1 Minute | ・Hylian Rice ・Tabantha Wheat ・Rock Salt |
+1 Minute 20 Seconds | ・Fresh Milk ・Cane Sugar ・Goat Butter |
+1 Minute 30 Seconds | ・Bird Egg ・Goron Spice ・Star Fragment ・Dragon's Scale |
+3 Minutes 30 Seconds | ・Dragon's Claw |
+10 Minutes 30 Seconds | ・Dragon's Fang |
+30 Minutes | ・Shard of Dragon's Horn |