Salt as a renewable resource and meat preservation

[piddy3825]

Now that salt has been introduced into the game, I think it's time that salt can be used as a meat preservation tool.
I'd like to see the fishing shacks on Coastal Highway, for example, be used not only for fishing purposes, but also to dip seawater out of those fishing holes, the water which
then is boiled on the woodstove in the fishing shack creating sea salt as the water is boiled off.   Without getting off into a tangent of water salinity, let's just say that 10 liters of water boiled off yields .25kg of salt and that would be enough salt to preserve roughly 10kg of meat.  

I think the process would add some immersion to the game and also provide an additional element to the game play.  I imagine it would take some considerable effort and time prepping for a salt crafting experience.  Firewood would have to be collected and hauled out to the shacks and then there is the time spent boiling water then scrapping the empty pot of the salt crystals.  The cooking utensils themselves would take damage over time and eventually fail, so all those empty cans would now have a new use besides being fabricated into bangers.  

[ajb1978]

Oh absolutely 100%, I can think of no lore-friendly reason why we can't scoop up a pot of salt water from the ocean, boil the water out of it, and scrape the salt from the pot. I've steam-distilled water myself in the past and if you use normal tap water as a base, you can get about a teaspoon of minerals out of a gallon of evaporated water. Compromising with what's already in play, maybe allow gathering of  unpotable water from beachcombing or fishing holes in coastal regions. If you boil say 1L of water dry, you get 0.01 salt. I know it doesn't make sense why scooping up freshwater snow would result in salt, but that's reality taking a back seat in favor of fun game-play.

[Lulzes]

Absolutely love this idea, I would add that smoking meats should also be an option for long-term food storage. In terms of game mechanics, it should involve collecting a lot of wood for the process, as well as requiring either calm weather conditions or an enclosed space such as an old barn.

I'd also like to see smoked/salted meats have less of a scent in terms of attracting hostile wildlife. It's always frustrated me (and somewhat broken the immersion) that food left outside doesn't freeze, as this would also preserve the food for longer and reduce the scent. I'm guessing the decision not to include this as a game feature was a deliberate one made for balance purposes, and I also fear that for the same reason we'll never see smoked or salted foods.

[hozz1235]

13 hours ago, piddy3825 said:

Now that salt has been introduced into the game, I think it's time that salt can be used as a meat preservation tool.
I'd like to see the fishing shacks on Coastal Highway, for example, be used not only for fishing purposes, but also to dip seawater out of those fishing holes, the water which
then is boiled on the woodstove in the fishing shack creating sea salt as the water is boiled off.   Without getting off into a tangent of water salinity, let's just say that 10 liters of water boiled off yields .25kg of salt and that would be enough salt to preserve roughly 10kg of meat.  

I think the process would add some immersion to the game and also provide an additional element to the game play.  I imagine it would take some considerable effort and time prepping for a salt crafting experience.  Firewood would have to be collected and hauled out to the shacks and then there is the time spent boiling water then scrapping the empty pot of the salt crystals.  The cooking utensils themselves would take damage over time and eventually fail, so all those empty cans would now have a new use besides being fabricated into bangers.  

I must have a mod that enables this (not sure which one!).  Occasionally, I find Halite, to which I can use a heavy hammer to break it down into salt, which in turn gives me a "salt" option on meats (I've never actually used it).

Your idea @piddy3825 seems very reasonable, I'm just not sure how much I would use it.  After all, it sounds like it would consume a LOT of wood to boil down enough water to get a small amount of salt; although, HL could "tweak" reality in that aspect.  With us eating practically anything at lvl 5 cooking combined with existing cooking of meat, I just see it as a "cool, lets try this" and then never do it again mechanic.  Just my opinion.

Edited January 11 by hozz1235

[Stranzua]

This is probably the #1 thing that I hope is added to the game before it's completed.   

[nautofon]

13 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

If you boil say 1L of water dry, you get 0.01 salt. I know it doesn't make sense why scooping up freshwater snow would result in salt, but that's reality taking a back seat in favor of fun game-play.

Great idea! That would make boiling dry a real part of gameplay.

If realism is a concern, you could perhaps limit this new mechanic to coastal regions only.

[ajb1978]

13 hours ago, nautofon said:

Great idea! That would make boiling dry a real part of gameplay.

It's like Bob Ross always said. No mistakes, only happy accidents.

If you oversleep and botch your water job, at least you get some salt out of it.

[UTC-10]

About the only downside I would see to boiling away the water to get salt is the damage done to the container - pot, skillet, recycled can - in the process.  Certainly pots and skillets can be repaired with scrap metal and a tool kit and recycled cans would be notable by how many end up laying around. 

I do not think that boiling away fresh water would result in any reasonable salt so letting or having a container of water boil away would not help.  If one seeks workable salt residues after doing so then the water would have to be sea water (or very salty water) to begin with.  

[piddy3825]

1 hour ago, UTC-10 said:

About the only downside I would see to boiling away the water to get salt is the damage done to the container - pot, skillet, recycled can - in the process.  Certainly pots and skillets can be repaired with scrap metal and a tool kit and recycled cans would be notable by how many end up laying around. 

I do not think that boiling away fresh water would result in any reasonable salt so letting or having a container of water boil away would not help.  If one seeks workable salt residues after doing so then the water would have to be sea water (or very salty water) to begin with.  

I dunno, but looks like you either didn't read my post or you misunderstood what you read.  No where did I say anything about melting snow, and I did specifically say seawater.  I also noted that the process would cause damage to the container used.  Considering how many empty cans are generated, no great loss if those were to become damaged beyond use.  

[Shadox]

Great Idea! I would absolutely love that. Broth is the cooking recipe i use the most on my Interloper. Giving the Ptarmigan Meat ~200 kcal more and removing the smell while also making it lighter is absolutely amazing. Especially given that the only non-renewable cost is 0.01 kg Salt. Theres plenty of Salt, but unfortunately not renewable. And making own jerky (and maybe even be able to put it in a recycled can to remove smell) would be even better!

Also great ideas on how to generate Salt here, i hope hinterland reads this

[UTC-10]

@piddy3825 wasn't referring to your OP.  But after reading your OP more closely I can see where you might think I was.  😅