Valheim Cooking Station: How To Build & Use

The Valheim Cooking Station is one of the most important structures you’ll have to build the moment you start your Viking saga in the video game developed by Iron Gate, and since you’ll have to do it very early in the game, it may be quite confusing especially if you’re not used to playing open-world survival sandbox titles.

The Cooking Station in Valheim is mandatory in your settlement for various reasons, as you’re about to see.

After spending quite some time with Valheim, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Cooking Station so you can start cooking food right away.

How To Build A Cooking Station In Valheim

In order to get your Cooking Station up and running, first, you’ll need to know how crafting works in Valheim.

This is truly easy to achieve because, basically, all you need to do is to get a hammer, which requires 3 wood and 2 stone.

You can get wood from branches, while stones are found on the ground.

Once you have the required amount, press TAB and craft a hammer.

The next step is to equip the hammer, and you can do this by dragging it to the upper bar. Remember that this is your building tool, not your main weapon.

Now, simply select the hammer by pressing the corresponding number key, then right-click to bring up the construction menu.

Select the Crafting tab, then click on the Cooking Station. As you can see in my screenshot below, this structure requires additional wood, so make sure you get 2 more units.

Things To Know About The Cooking Station

Now before we move forward with cooking in Valheim, here are several hints you may find useful.

• A Cooking Station must be placed over a campfire or hearth. The hearth becomes available later in the game, while the campfire can be built early in the game. Check the Misc tab
• You can place more than one Cooking Station on a campfire or hearth. This trick helps you cook food faster
• Since a Cooking Station requires a fire, you must protect it from rain; which means that you’ll need to build a roof above it

How To Cook Food

Great, so assuming you have built the station, it’s time to put it to good use. As in start preparing your meals.

To do so, first, you’ll need to start a fire, and this requires even more wood. Get at least 10 units, then while standing close to the campfire, look at it and press E.

Now, you’ll do the same while looking at the Cooking Station; however, here we have two options.

• By pressing E, you’ll place a random food item from your inventory
• If you want to cook specific items, you’ll have to equip them, then press the corresponding number to place them on the station

Finally, you’ll have to be aware that each item you cook has a cooking time.

Without knowing these timeframes, the only thing you’ll cook in Valheim is Coal. It is a good method to get Coal but not the correct one.

All Recipes & Cooking Times

The following list includes all Valheim recipes and cooking times available as of right now:

• Raw Meat – Cook it for 25 seconds to get Cooked Meat
• Neck Tail – Cook it for 20 seconds to get Grilled Neck Tail
• Raw Fish – Cook it for 30 seconds to get Cooked Fish
• Raw Lox Meat – Cook it for 60 seconds to get Cooked Lox Meat

Keep in mind that if you leave an ingredient unattended, you’ll overcook it, and even though Coal is a crafting material you’ll need, there are other ways to get it without destroying a good piece of meat.

Usually, when a recipe is fully cooked, you’ll see a spark, so pay close attention to the station.

And that’s it! Now you know how to cook in Valheim, so get ready to feast, or check this guide on how to cheat in Valheim.