Food in the Project Zomboid

Food in Project Zomboid is needed not only for survival, but also to keep the character in shape, remove sadness and depression, increase the carry weight and speed up the healing of wounds, and can even be used as a deadly weapon.

All food is divided into two types: perishable and non-perishable.
If the food has a condition (fresh, stale, spoiled) written after its name, it's spoiled. If the food just has the name, it can be stored forever.
While non-perishable food can be simply placed anywhere and nothing will happen to it, food that will soon rot should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
The refrigerator slows down the spoilage of food, but the freezer freezes it, and food must be defrosted before consumption.

You need to cook so that the food is more nutritious, better relieves depression, and is safe to eat.
The more ingredients in your dish, the better it is at relieving boredom and depression.
If you add two identical ingredients, the second one won't give you a happiness buff, and if you add four, the dish will end up with a misery and boredom debuff, but it will still add hunger.
The more different ingredients you add, the better your dish will restore unhappiness, and don't forget to add seasonings (salt, pepper, honey, olives, hot sauce, ketchup)

The higher your culinary skill, the more satisfying your food will be, and starting at level 7, you can add a little rotten food to a dish without losing its quality.
You can improve your cooking skills by watching programs and simply cooking. Reading books will improve your skill faster. Some dishes also require reading magazines.

A bowl is essential for making salads, a saucepan is essential for soup or stew, and a small saucepan is suitable for rice or spaghetti. You can fry meat, fish, and scramble eggs in a frying pan. A rolling pin is essential for kneading dough. You can't make cookies without a baking sheet, and you can't make muffins without a mold.
All this can be found in kitchens or restaurants.

Before baking fish or making soup, it's best to fillet it; this will make it more nutritious and lighter. A whole chicken can be cut into pieces. It won't make you feel any hungrier, but it will allow you to more precisely control how much you eat.
Before cooking small animals (rats, birds), it's best to cut them into fillets. You can form the minced meat into patties – they'll provide twice the calories, which is helpful when you need to gain weight.