Food is a group of items that refill the food bar, which has a direct bearing on the player's health. If the bar is missing more than 2 units, the player will not regenerate health after taking damage, and if 6 or more are missing, the player wil actively take damage from starvation.
With the exception of milk and mushroom stew, all food items and ingredients can be stacked in a player's inventory. Eggs, milk, sugar, wheat, and mushrooms cannot be consumed, but are instead crafted into other edible items. Hold down Button 2 (right-click in default controls) to eat food being held in the player's hand until the item has disappeared. Note that cake must be placed like other blocks on a surface before being eaten.
Food
(In addition to the food bar there is an invisible saturation bar that controls other aspects of hunger.)
| Name | Icon | Food Points | Obtained by | Saturation restored (additional effects) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Beef | Template:Grid | 
|
Killing cows | 1.8 |
| Steak | Template:Grid | 
|
Cooking raw beef Setting cows on fire |
12.8 |
| Bread | Template:Grid |
|
Crafting Found in dungeon chests |
6 |
| Cake | Template:Grid | (six uses - per use)
|
Crafting | 2.4 (6 uses 0.4 each) |
| Cookie | Template:Grid |
|
Crafting | 0.2 |
| Raw Chicken | Template:Grid |
|
Killing chickens | 1.2 (30% chance of food poisoning.) |
| Cooked Chicken | Template:Grid |
|
Cooking a raw chicken Setting chickens on fire |
7.2 |
| Raw Fish | Template:Grid |
|
Fishing | 1.2 |
| Cooked Fish | Template:Grid |
|
Cooking a raw fish | 6 |
| Raw Porkchop | Template:Grid |
|
Killing pigs | 1.8 |
| Cooked Porkchop | Template:Grid |
|
Cooking a raw porkchop Killing zombie pigmen Setting pigs on fire |
12.8 |
| Red Apple | Template:Grid |
|
Kill Notch in SMP Found in strongholds |
2.4 |
| Golden Apple | Template:Grid |
|
Crafting Found in dungeon chests |
24 (Health regeneration for 30 seconds.) |
| Melon Slice | Template:Grid |
|
Harvesting a melon block | 1.2 |
| Mushroom Stew | Template:Grid |
|
Crafting Using a Bowl on a Mooshroom |
9.6 |
| Rotten Flesh | Template:Grid |
|
Killing zombies | 0.8 (80% chance of food poisoning.) |
Ingredients
The following items cannot restore Hunger points on their own, but are crafted together with others to make more substantial food.
| Name | Icon | Obtained by |
|---|---|---|
| Bowl | Template:Grid | Crafting |
| Brown Mushroom | Template:Grid | Found in dark places Found in swamp biomes under viney trees |
| Red Mushroom | Template:Grid | Found in dark places Found in swamp biomes under viney trees Using shears on a Mooshroom |
| Cocoa Beans | Template:Grid | Found in dungeon chests |
| Egg | Template:Grid | Laid by chickens |
| Milk | Template:Grid | Milking a cow |
| Sugar | Template:Grid | Crafting sugar cane |
| Wheat | Template:Grid | Harvesting mature wheat crops Found in dungeon chests |
History
In previous versions of Minecraft, food did not have an eating animation, simply disappearing from the player's hand as if a block had been placed. Food also restored a set amount of hearts instantly - a player could return from the brink of death during a fight in a few seconds by downing a couple of porkchops or bowls of stew. To keep a certain level of challenge to the gameplay, Notch prevented players from taking advantage of this instant recovery by ensuring food (with the exception of the ingredients) did not stack in the inventory until Beta 1.7.
When the Hunger Bar was added in Beta 1.8, food became an even more vital resource as the player was required to eat regularly to avoid dying of starvation and regenerate health after taking damage.