Are pies the best food source?

[pippo_]

I'm currently in the bronze age, so there might be better options down the line. From what I can see, pies seem to be a really good food item. They can cover 2 or even 3 food groups (always has grain, can have vegetables, fruit, protein, or vegetables and protein), can stack, and last for over a week! Is there a better way to transport soup I'm not aware of, or are pies just that good?

[Zaph42nd]

2 hours ago, pippo_ said:

I'm currently in the bronze age, so there might be better options down the line. From what I can see, pies seem to be a really good food item. They can cover 2 or even 3 food groups (always has grain, can have vegetables, fruit, protein, or vegetables and protein), can stack, and last for over a week! Is there a better way to transport soup I'm not aware of, or are pies just that good?

Pies are pretty good overall, as far as meal transit, elks can carry cooking pots so transporting meals can be done (sort of), albeit pies are usually a bit more convenient than making meals (meals are, however, good for longer storage in theory with crock sealing and cellars). Specifically for crocks, I prepare meals and seal them away for winter or just as a forget-it and return food source since meals can cover all the food-groups easily (and cellars + sealing can mean food that lasts greater than an in-game year) which is nice for winter if you don't plan to migrate south (or prefer more northern areas for bases)

Edited July 16 by Zaph42nd
Expanded crocks discussion a bit more

[pippo_]

1 hour ago, Zaph42nd said:

Pies are pretty good overall, as far as meal transit, elks can carry cooking pots so transporting meals can be done (sort of), albeit pies are usually a bit more convenient than making meals (meals are, however, good for longer storage in theory)

True, I didn't think about long term preservation. Come to think of it, taking a crock and a bowl would be a lot more efficient compared to what I normally do, which is to take 2-4 bows of food with me

[CastIronFabric]

8 minutes ago, pippo_ said:

True, I didn't think about long term preservation. Come to think of it, taking a crock and a bowl would be a lot more efficient compared to what I normally do, which is to take 2-4 bows of food with me

I asked AI just to make sure what I have been experiencing is in fact correct and not mod affected or an oversight on my part. Here is the answer from AI:

'In Vintage Story, food in an unsealed crock will typically spoil faster than a pie.' 

 

sealed however I bet crocks last longer

Edited July 16 by CastIronFabric

[Hanril]

Charring pies makes them pretty much spoil-proof, at least long enough for a few days outside. They also keep fruit fresh way longer than porridges do I think. However their most broken op functionality is stack size. 16 of these bad boys and and you have 64 pieces that can sometimes fill your hunger bar fully. You don't even lose out on anything by cutting them beforehand. Crock pots don't stack and hold 4 potions, and I never bothered with sealing them, since you can easily miss out on beeswax and fat is better used on mechanicals. The only thing you need are 2-4 ovens for effective baking, firewood, maybe a panning setup nearby and some 2nd monitor stuff to not get bored.

Edited July 16 by Hanril

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, pippo_ said:

From what I can see, pies seem to be a really good food item. They can cover 2 or even 3 food groups (always has grain, can have vegetables, fruit, protein, or vegetables and protein), can stack, and last for over a week!

Pies are definitely one of the strongest food items in the game, mainly because they are very satisfying for hunger and stack very well. However, they don't have the shelf life that sealed crocks of food have.

Soups and stews can also cover up to 3 nutrients, I think, and their main advantage is that they're easier to prepare than pies(don't require an oven or quern) and can be sealed into crocks for long-term storage. The main drawback is that crocks and cookpots don't stack, and you need a bowl to eat soup/stew, so they're not very efficient in terms of inventory space.

If you're wanting to stock an outpost with supplies that will keep for a very long time though, neither of the above options will work particularly well. Raw grain and flour will keep for years when stored properly in a cellar, as will wine, sealed crocks of jam, pickled vegetables, and salted meats. Honey and distilled alcohol will never go bad, no matter how it's stored.

[wildforester]

Best food? Maybe. Idk much about pies specifically, but I’d think foods that last forever (not really long) would be up there as the best food.

honey and rendered fat/walnuts are good for that. Alcohols too, but they lack any food category benefit

[Facethief]

Eh? One thing to consider is that most ingredients for pies and meals keep longer raw than cooked, so sometimes I’ll make food on-demand, unless it’s something like meat.

[Vratislav]

For needs of protein and veggie combination, stew with cabbage is a killer combination. I usually double it with fruit pies to have 4/5 nutrients balanced. (No dairy as I usually have bad luck for goats, and buying cheese is really big luxury.)

[HalfAxd]

2 hours ago, Facethief said:

I’ll make food on-demand

Agreed... 

I rarely seal crocks because I'm making a weeks worth of food (sometimes more if I'm traveling) and keep the raw ingredients in the cellar.

Cabbage is king