Fruit and Kompot

[SzalonyNiemiec]

There should be fruits in the game. I mean frozen fruits don't go bad. I realize frozen fruit isn't really tasty, even after thawing, that's where my second point comes to play: Kompot! Kompot is a traditional eastern European fruit drink, which is really easy to make: just boil fruits in water, and depending on sweetness of the fruits and personal taste you can add sugar or honey.

[Gaboris]

As a Hungarian I support this idea! But as part of a Canadian game world I'm not so sure it fits... Maybe make is a jam?

Also the game already has a good selection of food items. It's always okay to expand them, but seeing how few "non-game mechanical" items get added or changed I'm not sure if it'll happen or not.

[miah999]

Kompot spelled Compote here, is something really different. If there was fruit in game, either frozen, or when the full season sandbox comes. Jam or Preserves would make far more sense for the setting.

And @Gaboris is right, the number and type of food items has not changed much in several updates. 

But there is a cooking update on the road-map, so maybe some new food items will be introduced there.

[SzalonyNiemiec]

@Gaboris @miah999 I get where you're coming from, but:

A) Jam requires a lot sugar. Compote on the other side can, in extreme emergency situations, be made without sugar at all.

B) What would you do with that Jam, when you have neither bread nor butter?

C) There are a lot of scenarios, which would explain our protagonist knowing how to make compote. for example:

-He has a Russian grandma

-He has a Hungarian BFF

-He spent a semester abroad in Poland

-He read about it on the forums

-He saw "Life of Boris" on youtube

-And most likely: the game takes place in an alternative universe, in which Canada acknowledges the total superiority of compote.

[Hiemalis]

Compote looks good; eventually I'll get a recipe from the interwebs and try it! Nonetheless, my own considerations:

1. There's already an ongoing (and quite popular) thread on new foodstuff here.

2. Do we really need more foodstuff? I mean, I like variety, but I'd prefer it to be meaningful. I can understand the fun and joy that flavor brings, but (as I already mentioned in a thread about clothes) I'd rather have the game force us to make difficult decisions. As of now, there's not much difference between a can of peaches and a can of tomato soup -- salt crackers and energy bars are the most efficient food, period. Why don't we first plead for interesting food effects rather than suggesting more (IMHO empty) variety?

In no way I mean these words in a harsh way. I guess I'm just getting them out of my chest.

Also, jam can be made without sugar, and the survivor eats peanut butter without bread. I would certainly consider jam a very welcome option in a disaster scenario like that. (Much better than raw cat tail stalk, I bet.)

[SzalonyNiemiec]

@Hiemalis Compote would add a difference. it would work like tea with edible teabags. so you can decide for your self: do I eat that apple now, or do I use it to make compote later.

and the recipe is really easy:

Boil water

take fruit of your choice, depending on fruit, cut to smaller pieces,

put fruit in boiling water

add sugar/honey

secret tipp: add lemon

water to fruit ratio, depending on fruit you chose and personal taste between 1:1 and 3:1

cook 30 minutes

you can drink it hot or cold

And you should drink it with the fruit.

and you can take any fruit you want

[Hiemalis]

Thanks for the recipe, @SzalonyNiemiec!

[Gaboris]

Since @miah999 brought the cooking update to our attention I'd say if they make it so that it also contains food preservation methods (like smoking meat and the likes) then adding "compote" besides jam (jam has more calories, but "compote" also hydrates) would be pretty nice... Although where the HECK would we get fruit? This region has been abandoned for months at LEAST and who knows how long has this cold been around...

[Wastelander]

59 minutes ago, Gaboris said:

Since @miah999 brought the cooking update to our attention I'd say if they make it so that it also contains food preservation methods (like smoking meat and the likes) then adding "compote" besides jam (jam has more calories, but "compote" also hydrates) would be pretty nice... Although where the HECK would we get fruit? This region has been abandoned for months at LEAST and who knows how long has this cold been around...

Apples last for a few months if stored correctly, so there's that. Granted, that storing process takes time (individually wrapping each apple in newspaper, then putting them in an isolated wooden box in a cold cellar), it's worth it especially if you grow your own (the farm in PV seems to have a fruit orchard). So basically, fruit isn't completely out of the question although the places where one could find such fruit are naturally limited.

[SzalonyNiemiec]

@Gaboris Frozen fruits are good for a really long time.

[Gaboris]

@Wastelander @SzalonyNiemiec

DANG IT! You're right, I completely forgot that my grandma actually has last years apples in her cellar all in perfect condition(though she only layers them with newspapers, not wraps each individually)... plus "they say" that all apples you buy in a store is actually over a year old so I guess I "done goofed".

[Wastelander]

Just now, Gaboris said:

@Wastelander @SzalonyNiemiec

DANG IT! You're right, I completely forgot that my grandma actually has last years apples in her cellar all in perfect condition(though she only layers them with newspapers, not wraps each individually)... plus "they say" that all apples you buy in a store is actually over a year old so I guess I "done goofed".

Happens to all of us. That's why we have these forums: To entertain and discuss ideas and come out more knowledgable than before, which is something I am incredibly thankful for - I learned so much in my few months here!

Oh, and by the way: Wouldn't the canned peaches also work?

[cekivi]

The main problem with canning is finding an oven to disinfect the jars in and the appropriate lids to seal the jars with. Definitely possible (and highly likely) but it would be a very interesting puzzle to find the proper conditions to make preservatives. The oven in the farm house is probably the only place in the entire game where this may be possible without risking botulism.

[Dirmagnos]

24 minutes ago, cekivi said:

The main problem with canning is finding an oven to disinfect the jars in and the appropriate lids to seal the jars with. Definitely possible (and highly likely) but it would be a very interesting puzzle to find the proper conditions to make preservatives. The oven in the farm house is probably the only place in the entire game where this may be possible without risking botulism.

Id say that main problem with canning would be keeping those jars in above freezing temperatures in winter. Otherwise they will just blow.

And frozen fruits... this is one disgusting mess.

[Wastelander]

7 hours ago, Dirmagnos said:

And frozen fruits... this is one disgusting mess.

I think this is about commercial frozen fruits. Also, in the current game we can find raw fish in near-perfect condition in freezers so frozen fruits aren't that far out.

[Dirmagnos]

9 hours ago, Wastelander said:

I think this is about commercial frozen fruits. Also, in the current game we can find raw fish in near-perfect condition in freezers so frozen fruits aren't that far out.

Problem with fruits is that they are like 99% water. Water, when frozen, crystallizes and breaks cell membranes. As result, when you thaw something like blueberries they both look and taste like crap, literally. My mother is a fan of such type of "preservation" - end result is completely inedible, unless youre seriously starving.

I know there are methods that allow freezing fruits with minimal damage, but its some rather specific data, that most people do not possess or learn out of curiosity. Maybe dehydrating and then freezing would be more along the skill/knowledge level of protagonist.

[Wastelander]

12 minutes ago, Dirmagnos said:

Problem with fruits is that they are like 99% water. Water, when frozen, crystallizes and breaks cell membranes. As result, when you thaw something like blueberries they both look and taste like crap, literally. My mother is a fan of such type of "preservation" - end result is completely inedible, unless youre seriously starving.

I know there are methods that allow freezing fruits with minimal damage, but its some rather specific data, that most people do not possess or learn out of curiosity. Maybe dehydrating and then freezing would be more along the skill/knowledge level of protagonist.

I know this, perhaps I worded this wrong: I, and quite possibly the original post, meant commercial frozen fruit that was frozen before the disaster.

[Dirmagnos]

41 minutes ago, Wastelander said:

I know this, perhaps I worded this wrong: I, and quite possibly the original post, meant commercial frozen fruit that was frozen before the disaster.

Ahh, my bad, then i guess its quite plausible. Id love to find a stash of frozen peas.

[Wastelander]

32 minutes ago, Dirmagnos said:

Ahh, my bad, then i guess its quite plausible. Id love to find a stash of frozen peas.

I bought some frozen strawberrys IRL last year, and they're still good. Not as good as the original, on this I do agree with you, but edible. Also, frozen peas or other vegetables would go very well with what I expect the upcoming cooking system to be!

....aaaand now I feel hungry for stew.