Don't cook your plump helmets

[Onyx Wake]

Your success depends on it and thus should be the default selection in the kitchen menu. But it isn't. Why? Many people don't know this and will spend hours failing before they figure it out. Cooking the shrooms doesn't give you back any seeds (spores) to replant and brew for more alcohol.

[Slphapalme]

Where is the kitchen menu?

[Lena]

why is it crucial to not eat plump helmets?

[Unknown Zombie]

Originally posted by Lena:

why is it crucial to not eat plump helmets?

Because you need to brew beer with them. Dwarves must drink beer (not water) to stay productive.

[Lena]

Originally posted by Unknown Zombie:

Originally posted by Lena:

why is it crucial to not eat plump helmets?

Because you need to brew beer with them. Dwarves must drink beer (not water) to stay productive.

ooh ok, that makes sense, thank you. i thought they could brew alcohol out of pretty much everything.

[Azazel_Lazarus]

You can eat the plump helmets just fine, but only if you eat them raw, as cooking gives no seeds, and the dwarfs don't care for the rawness.

[Marmarmar34]

So do I just get the spores from not cooking meals, or do I need to do something special?

[ziroc]

You get the seeds if you brew them or eat them raw. Cooking destroys the seeds. I think this is also valid for all other plants.

[kheftel]

Go to kitchen menu under labors and disallow cooking plump helmets

[Unknown Zombie]

Originally posted by Marmarmar34:

So do I just get the spores from not cooking meals, or do I need to do something special?

You'll get the spores if you brew alcohol with them.

[Azazel_Lazarus]

You get the spores from eating them raw, and from brewing them, I like to put the still and a stockpile for the seeds/spawn and one for the helmets close to the farm, and soon enough you will get a surplus.

[MadAsgardian]

Originally posted by Naranja™:

Where is the kitchen menu?

In the Labor menu.

[Marmarmar34]

Originally posted by Unknown Zombie:

Originally posted by Marmarmar34:

So do I just get the spores from not cooking meals, or do I need to do something special?

You'll get the spores if you brew alcohol with them.

Pog

[Bloody Bubba]

Yeah, i had to restart due to this. i turned off Cooking of Plump Helmets in the Kitchen Menu... but i didn't turn off NOT TO EAT THE SPAWN!
So they just Cooked the Spawn as well, i guess!? ended up with a bunch of Dwarves Thirsting to Death, and a ton of Green Ghostie Dwarves haunting my BRAND NEW TOMB!

[Necroscourge]

So the real reason you NEVER cook plump helmets is it destroys the seeds. Brewing and pretty much every other use will leave a seed or two afterwards. Always disable the cooking use of underground crops until you have a farm going

[Fletch]

There are a list of things you need (should) do on every embark, and disabling the cooking of plump helmets is right at the top of that list or you are seriously damning that fort. It should just be the default setting but its been this way forever -- perhaps it is intentional to force newbies to die off quickly on their first forts so they have to learn the kitchen menus and how cooking destroys seeds but brewing does not.

Another gotcha is ensuring you always embark with one anvil, because you can't construct another anvil without a forge (and to build a forge requires an anvil) -- you can't have any metal industry unless you bring that first anvil with you at embark or hope you can trade for one.