Calico

Chicory was added to coffee during hard times as filler, since it does taste a bit like coffee - but it does not contain caffeine at all. Also I think the developers have stayed away from any plant root items because of the frozen ground. For a short term energy boost maybe hot chocolate packets?

I was thinking that when you harvest certain small, brightly colored clothing items like the Wool Scarf or the Fleece Mittens you could could have a choice to either get the standard cloth OR get "tags" (maybe 2x as many tags as you would have gotten cloth). These tags could be combined - via the camp craft menu - with either 1 stick or 3 rocks to make a small vertical marker that would be more prominent than simply dropping an item flat on the ground. They would degrade, but slowly. You could NOT use tags for anything else - not mending or bandages, so you would have to make judicious choices. Bonus thought: if you mapped an area AFTER you dropped a tag it would show up on the map, but only after a fresh mapping event, it would not show up automatically.

Maybe a one-shot on December 21/22 the night of the Winter Solstice?

Folks have been asking for some sort of meat preservation mechanic so consistently that I'd bet that it will happen eventually, though probably only in survival mode. I'm sure Hinterland is taking all due time and care to make sure it fits into the game properly in terms of both balance and tone. Look how long it took to be able to break down campfires (and that is a purely aesthetic fix), but enough people asked, so it happened.

At this point I think it would be fair if Hinterland put out a "last call" to the initial Kickstarter backers with a set deadline. Any cairns unclaimed after the deadline could be opened up to current players. Maybe a mini-game/quest within the next 4DON to earn a cairn? Are there any cairns in Bleak Inlet?

I really like the idea of location-specific species. Large as it is Great Bear is an island so species that need more specialized environments would be more localized. Beaver don't hibernate so they would be around (just more active at night). A medium sized protein source and a highly water-resistant pelt would be a nice addition. Plus what is more Canadian than a Beaver? Neat article: https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-06-03/vancouvers-former-olympic-village-now-home-urban-beavers

This bit of added complexity is what I'm hoping for in the future for the cooking mechanic. Being able to combine food items into simple recipes would add a nice bit of verisimilitude to the game.

Special Food Item: Eggnog!

I think this is a great topic, please post more!

Jamaica! Then I moved to Wisconsin and I love it. My family thinks I'm crazy.

iTunes please!

Good thing I searched before making a new topic Here are my thoughts on the porcupine: Porcupines - more common in deepest wilderness areas. Primarily nocturnal, stay close to dens in winter. What makes them interesting? They pose more danger to your equipment than your body. They will reduce condition of leather and wood items left outside. Also could be a source of an animal-unique condition “quill-riddled”: Very painful and time consuming to heal, BUT no infection risk (Porcupines actually have antibiotics in skin and quills to protect themselves from self-inflicted jabs!). This could be a very rare animal that is a relatively easy kill but provides a safe, high calorie meat. Quills could be collected, for strictly decorative purposes. From Alaska Dept of Fish and Game website “The porcupine can be easily approached and killed with a club because of its plodding gait. This trait has saved the lives of hungry Natives, trappers, and miners in times past. For this reason, although the hunting season is open all year with no bag limit, many people do not kill porcupines without cause. Some people find the meat too strong, but in some areas of the state, porcupines with their heavy layer of fat are considered a delicacy.”

That is a great idea! I was thinking of something similar - instead of numbers a small set of icons so you could "stamp" a spot on the map.

Not possible to grow a plant to maturity, but it could be possible to sprout seeds in a jar for a small dose of greens. If the jar was properly positioned in one of the cabins that stays warm without a fire and had glass windows and there was a 2-3 day stretch of clear weather. I doubt it would be worth implementing unless the devs do decide to go with a longer-term "nutrition mechanic" i.e. scurvy, which they have said they have no plans for at the moment.

One additional sleep option I would like to see is the ability to harvest fir branches to create sleeping pads inside caves or mines. These already exist in the plane crash cave and I've found at least one other one. Being able to craft those would be a nice option without going overboard.