Dwarf Fortress Food Value Comparison (Base Values)
Compare 15 Dwarf Fortress food base values, from seeds at 1 to dwarven cheese at 20. Bay 12 meal, meat and cheese values ranked in a linked tool. See rows.
Visual comparison
All values
Click any row to load it as Entry A.
| Name | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed Base 1. Planting stock. Same as alcohol and powder. | 1 material value | Farm plots and gathered plants | DF Wiki Item value page: glob, seed, alcohol, powder, extract base 1 |
| Alcohol Base 1. Dwarves drink 5 mugs per season. Brewing base. | 1 material value | Brewed at still from plants and honey | DF Wiki Item value page: glob, seed, alcohol, powder, extract base 1 |
| Plant Powder Base 1. Long chains raise value later. Flour example. | 1 material value | Milled flour, sugar and dye powders | DF Wiki Item value page: glob, seed, alcohol, powder, extract base 1 |
| Plant Extract Base 1. Syrup cooks well. Gnomeblight is special. | 1 material value | Syrup, golden salve and extracts | DF Wiki Item value page: glob, seed, alcohol, powder, extract base 1 |
| Fat Glob Base 1. Rots if not stored. Tallow cooks. | 1 material value | Butcher fat glob, renders to tallow | DF Wiki Item value page: glob, seed, alcohol, powder, extract base 1 |
| Meat Base 2. Comes with leather, fat and bones. | 2 material value | Butchered livestock and hunted game | DF Wiki Item value page: Fish, unprepared fish, Meat, Egg, Plant, Leaves base 2 |
| Fish Base 2. Larger trap fish count as meat parts. | 2 material value | Caught by fishing or fish traps | DF Wiki Item value page: Fish, unprepared fish, Meat, Egg, Plant, Leaves base 2 |
| Unprepared Fish Base 2. Cleaned at fishery. Same as meat. | 2 material value | Raw catch before cleaning | DF Wiki Item value page: Fish, unprepared fish, Meat, Egg, Plant, Leaves base 2 |
| Egg Base 2. Any tame layer works. Hatchery source. | 2 material value | Laid in nest boxes, cooked whole | DF Wiki Item value page: Fish, unprepared fish, Meat, Egg, Plant, Leaves base 2 |
| Plant Base 2. Farm backbone. Only food group besides honey for drink. | 2 material value | Plump helmet and cave wheat crops | DF Wiki Item value page: Fish, unprepared fish, Meat, Egg, Plant, Leaves base 2 |
| Leaves Base 2. Rock nuts press to oil. Same base as plants. | 2 material value | Quarry bush leaves, farm side product | DF Wiki Item value page: Fish, unprepared fish, Meat, Egg, Plant, Leaves base 2 |
| Cheese Base 10. Standard cheeses rate 10. Barrel of milk makes stacks. | 10 material value | Made from milk at farmers workshop | DF Wiki Cheese page: other cheeses priced at 10, DF Wiki Item value cheese base 10 |
| Honeycomb Base 10. Item VALUE 10 in raws. Presses to honey. | 10 material value | Harvested from hives with jugs | DF Wiki Honeycomb page: ITEM VALUE 10, DF Wiki Item value honeycomb base 10 |
| Dwarven Cheese Top here at 20. Twice standard cheese. Not on caravans by default. | 20 material value | Made from dwarven milk only | DF Wiki Cheese page: dwarven cheese 20, other cheeses 10 |
| Prepared Meal Base Base 1 plus bonuses. Well prepared adds 3, masterful adds 30. Ingredients add more. | 1 material value | Biscuits, stews and roasts | DF Wiki Item value page: Prepared meals always have base value of 1, meal bonus 0 to 30 |
About this converter
Dwarf Fortress from Bay 12 Games prices every food by base form value times material multiplier. This table ranks 15 Bay 12 food values on one scale, from seeds at 1 to dwarven cheese at 20. Cheap bulk foods cover daily meals. Mid foods cover trade variety. Cheese and honeycomb exist to raise fortress wealth. Seeds, alcohol, powder, extract and glob all rate 1. Meat, fish, unprepared fish, egg, plant and leaves all rate 2. Standard cheese and honeycomb rate 10. Dwarven cheese rates 20. Prepared meals start at base 1 plus ingredient and quality bonuses.
How to use it
Pick two foods and the unit in the top row, for example cheese and meat. The three boxes below stay linked, so editing any number updates the other two. One box holds portions of the first food, one holds portions of the second, one holds total material value. Try 1 dwarven cheese against seeds to see the 20 times gap.
Base values come from the DF Wiki Item value page for the current v53 Steam release. Seeds, alcohol, powder, extract and glob rate 1. Fish, meat, egg, plant and leaves rate 2. Cheese and honeycomb rate 10. Prepared meals always carry base 1, with meal bonus plus 0 to plus 30 by quality and ingredient values added on top. Plant material multipliers for sun berry at 3, valley herb at 5 and flour at 20 affect cooking but do not change the base form values rowed here. Milk is cooked or turned to cheese and is not rowed as a separate base.
FAQ
What is the most valuable food in Dwarf Fortress?
Dwarven cheese at 20. Standard cheese and honeycomb tie for second at 10.
How is prepared meal value calculated?
Base 1 for the meal form, plus meal bonus 0 to 30 by quality, plus ingredient values. A well prepared meal adds 3 on top of ingredients.
Why do seeds and meat differ?
Base 1 for seeds, alcohol, powder, extract and fat glob. Base 2 for meat, fish, egg, plant and leaves. Form sets base, material sets multiplier.
Where is milk in the table?
Milk is cooked or turned to cheese at the farmers workshop. Cheese rates 10, dwarven cheese 20, so milk value moves to cheese.
Sources
- DF Wiki Item value page Sep 2026: seeds and alcohol base 1, meat and plants base 2, cheese base 10, meal base 1
- DF Wiki Cheese page: other cheeses 10, dwarven cheese 20, milk to cheese stacks
- DF Wiki Honeycomb page Feb 2025: ITEM VALUE 10, hive makes 2 combs per year
- DF Wiki Kitchen page: easy 2 stacks, fine 3 stacks, lavish 4 stacks, quality raises value
Last verified: 2026-10-15 · 15 entries
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