Just as tilling the fields and cleaning up your farm can be exhausting, so can a visit to the Mines or the Skull Cavern. If you don’t want to run out of Energy when you’re just starting, you’ll need to bring some field snacks to keep you going a little longer. It’s like an MRE! Most people just eat whatever they come across in the wilderness, such as berries and root vegetables, but a little bit more effort can give you much better results. Let’s look at the best and most convenient Mining snacks.
5. Salad
Light meals like Salads are perfect to prepare for physical activities like breaking rocks and fighting monsters. Eating a Salad will heal your character by 50 points of Health and increase your Energy by 113, which is not bad at all. It means you’ll be able to break around 55 more rocks at base Mining skill before running out of stamina. What I like the most about the Salad, and the reason I put it here, is simple: reliability. You can make a Salad from a Leek, a Dandelion, and some Vinegar after you get the recipe from Emily – but you can also buy it from the Stardrop Saloon all the time. Talk about convenience! At a cost of 220g, it’s the most economical choice for a store-bought mining snack.
4. Sashimi
Another convenient choice that won’t break the bank is the Japanese delicacy known as Sashimi. This isn’t the average salmon sashimi you’d get at your favorite sushi place, though. Instead, you’ll make this out of any cheap fish, crustaceans, and mollusks you come across. Crayfish, Snails, Crabs, Periwinkles – it’s all the same in the hands of a determined chef. This will only heal 33 Health points and provide 75 Energy (or around 37 broken rocks), so you’ll need to bring a lot of Sashimi. Still, it won’t be a problem due to the ubiquitous ingredients. You can get the recipe from outdoor survival expert Linus after achieving 3+ hearts.
3. Spicy Eel
Once you start exploring the Skull Cavern, the Spicy Eel becomes the obvious choice for combat rations. From the Health and Energy perspective, the Spicy Eel is pretty average. It heals 51 Health and raises your Energy by 115. What makes it rise above the competition is a small buff to Luck and Speed, which lasts for seven minutes after eating. This makes it more likely to find valuables in smashed rocks, and you’ll move faster through the dungeon. In addition, it’s easy to farm. Serpents in the Skull Cavern drop this once in a while, and a Lava Eel fishing pond can also produce a steady stream of Spicy Eel.
2. Gold-Quality Cheese
You can’t go wrong with Cheese if you’re looking for the perfect middle ground between potency and convenience. Assuming you own a barn and some cows, making Cheese is as easy as milking your cow and throwing the fresh milk into a Cheese Maker. Regular cheese only heals for 56 points and gives you 125 Energy, but we’re aiming for the stars – the gold stars, to be precise. Once your cows have grown to love and trust you, they’ll produce Large Milk, which guarantees Gold-Quality Cheese. This item heals a whopping 101 Health and 225 Energy: a top-tier performance.
1. Pumpkin Soup
Your basic needs in the Mines could be described as “getting rich and avoiding damage.” The Pumpkin Soup is the perfect platter to achieve both of these things, thanks to its stellar healing and powerful buffs. You’ll get 90 HP and 200 Energy back by sipping on this rich soup. In addition, you’ll get a solid +2 buff to both Defense and Luck, making you a more profitable miner and harder to kill. The most reliable way to stay stocked on Pumpkin Soup is cooking it. Robin will share the recipe – requiring Pumpkin and Milk – sometime after her 7 Hearts event.
