Food and Drink

, one of the four primary categories of loot in DayZ, refers to any item or liquid that can be consumed by a survivor for sustenance. Used to replenish a survivor's energy and hydration, food and drink is perhaps the most important of the four categories of loot. Food typically replenishes both energy and hydration, while drink typically only replenishes hydration.

As of Update 1.10, food now decays over time. This is only applied to (as of 1.10) meat and vegetables, with fruit and mushrooms being scripted to do so in the near future. All foods have a certain amount of hours it will be good to eat/cook, before it spoils and will become inedible. Food will decay between 75-100% of their time limit, which makes certain types of food and the way you prepare them all the more important. Food will also spoil faster in the players inventory than in a tent or elsewhere on the server.

A comparison of nutritional values can be found below in the Comparison Tables.

Meats Nutrition

 * Raw Meat (obtained by skinning either animals or fish)


 * Baked Meat (achieved by cooking raw meat over a Fireplace using a Long Wooden Stick)


 * Boiled Meat (achieved by cooking raw meat in a Cooking Pot full of water)


 * Dried Meat (achieved by cooking raw meat in a Cooking Pot without water or fat)


 * Burned Meat (achieved by baking, boiling, or drying meat for too long)


 * Rotten Meat (achieved by allowing raw meat to sit around for too long unprepared)

Produce Nutrition

 * Raw Fruit & Vegetables (obtained by harvesting produce from plants when they are ready)


 * Baked Fruit & Vegetables (achieved by roasting produce over a Fireplace using a Long Wooden Stick)


 * Boiled Fruit & Vegetables (achieved by boiling produce in a Cooking Pot full of water)


 * Dried Fruit & Vegetables (achieved by cooking produce in a Cooking Pot without water or fat)


 * Burned Fruit & Vegetables (achieved by cooking produce for too long)


 * Rotten Fruit & Vegetables (achieved by allowing produce to sit for too long before harvesting)

Mushrooms Nutrition

 * Raw Mushrooms (obtained by gathering)


 * Baked Mushrooms (achieved by roasting them over a Fireplace using a Long Wooden Stick)


 * Boiled Mushrooms (achieved by boiling them in a Cooking Pot full of water)


 * Dried Mushrooms (achieved by cooking them in a Cooking Pot without water or fat)


 * Burned Mushrooms (achieved by cooking them for too long)


 * Rotten Mushrooms (achieved by allowing raw mushrooms to sit around for too long unprepared)