The cooking station in Valheim has always been a necessary tool for any players' journey. Food is very useful for staying healthy and maintaining buffs, which every successful adventurer needs to do. However, in the latest Hearth & Home update, Valheim players will need to craft a new and upgraded iron cooking station if they wish to stay ahead of their enemies. Changes have been made so some meats even require the iron cooking station to be cooked.

While players probably aren't excited to farm for more ingredients, the iron cooking station does offer some helpful upgrades. It operates the same as a normal cooking station but allows players to cook up to 5 different items at once. Also, certain meats, like lox meat and serpent meat, require the iron cooking station to cook them at all. This allows players with the iron cooking station to spend less time cooking food, and more time exploring.

Related: Valheim Hearth & Home Update Review: Subtle, Yet Effective

The iron cooking station doesn't require many materials, but will require players to defeat The Elder, and take many trips to Valheim's swamp biome. This means players should stack up on poison resistance, and other helpful tools to navigate the swamp's dangers. The recipe is 3 iron and 3 chain, which can both be found throughout the swamp in various sunken crypts. Once inside the crypts, players should prioritize mining muddy scrap piles, as they're the best way to obtain scrap iron. These bits of scrap iron can then be used with coal in a smelter, to convert them to iron. Chain will also appear in sunken crypt chests and is dropped by wraiths.

How to Craft Valheim's Iron Cooking Station

Valheim Hearth & Home Update Cooking

When players in Valheim have finally gathered all the materials in the swamp, they can finally craft the iron cooking station. However, players need to make sure they're around a forge to do so. Just like the normal cooking station, the iron cooking station needs to be placed over an active fire to cook their favorite meats. Then, if players have raw meat in their inventory, activating the station will place the meat on the hook and start cooking.

For Valheim players everywhere, the iron cooking station is a substantial upgrade. Beast tamers and slayers will need the iron cooking station if they want to cook their prey. Even players who haven't conquered many serpents or lox should see an increase in their Valheim cooking skills, with the added ability to cook 5 items. The new item is a great example of the subtle but helpful changes added for players in the Hearth & Home update.

Next: Every Food Recipe in Valheim (& How to Cook Them)

Valheim is in Early Access and is available for PC and Linux.