Heating food?

[Filiokus]

I've crawled through the snow, fog, and over the ice. I see a cabin in the distance, and I run over there before the dark consumes the horizon.

Well inside, I rejoice over what seems to be a stove and some conveniently placed firewood.

I light a fire, and I rummage through my backpack to find something edible. Maybe one of my twenty cans of pork and beans? Or one of my thousand cans of soda? Canadians must love their soda.

But why can I not heat my can of food on the stove to get some much needed warmth in my belly? Warm food should give more calories, and it should reduce the risk of food poisoning.

[Trandor]

I don't agree on the more calorie part. If anything, you will los some calories (same as on meat), but definitely, there should be the option to heat food and get a warmth bonus. Maybe (if there will ever be something like this) it should increase your willpower. Since it will bring back your motivation to press on.

[Survive757]

I agree we should be able to heat canned food, which would provide a warmth bonus and reduce the risk of food poisoning if the condition of the food is low.

[Filiokus]

I don't agree on the more calorie part. If anything, you will los some calories (same as on meat).

Well, technically you are right.

The calorie value (joules) in food stays constant regardless of the temperature of the food. But your body uses energy (joules) to maintain a body temperature, and when you eat cold foods you spend more energy on maintaining it since the cold foods lower your internal body temperature.

[spoil]As a simple example, let's say you ate 1 pound of frozen turkey. I will just assume that the heat capacity of this is equivalent to 1 pound of water, which is close enough. The heat capacity of water is about 4 Joules per gram per degree Kelvin. 1 pound of water is about 450 grams. Body temperature is about 100 F (310K), frozen meat 32 F (270 K).

So: 4 Joules * 450 grams * (40K) = 72 kJ = 17 kcal

So, eating 1 pound of frozen turkey instead of turkey at body temperature causes you to burn an extra 17 calories.[/spoil]

I just thought that it would be easier to raise the calorie value of the food instead of creating a more complex system.

[Trandor]

Sure it may be easier, but then again, it would be even easier to simply give a decreased food poisoning chance and reduce the cold bar. Cold bar and calorie use are loosely tied as well, so reducing the cold bar quicker would also reflect the higher caloric intake you're speaking of.