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The following is taken from my Animal Parade General Guide but I thought it might be useful to post the information here as well for those players who do not possess the patience to read my rather long, detailed guides:
Energy Recovery in Animal Parade
Energy is as valuable a commodity in any Harvest Moon game as money. One of your first priorities must be that of finding ways by which to restore your Energy while spending the least amount of money to do so. Your money is better employed for the most part in investing in farming and ranching supplies and equipment.
An exception to this is the raw fish sold initially by Ozzie at the Fishery. For only 30G, you can buy raw Goby and for 40G, a raw Sardine. Eaten raw, these will not provide sufficient Energy values but when cooked on a bonfire using Matches, they are transformed into rather decent Recovery items. You can catch these fish easily as well but fishing is time-consuming, and I would advise you to keep a nice stack of Grilled Sardines in your Rucksack for use in the Mines or elsewhere whenever your Energy flags.
Early purchases that will increase your potential to create Energy Recovery items are as follows:
Investment in a box of Matches requires 480G. A Cutting Board costs 1500G and a Pot costs 2000G. A Mixer costs 1200G. Of the four, the Matches will be the most useful in the very first week.
With Matches, you can grill almost ANY fish that you catch. The value of the item when shipped will depend on the identity of the Fish.
With a Cutting Board, you can chop almost any Fish that you catch into Sashimi. At the start of the game, you probably will not be able to create anything better in quality than Decent Sashimi, as the quality of the Cooked Dish when it is made with Fish depends on the total combined shipping value of all the items used in it. The 3 Char that you receive as a Gift could be made into Good Sashimi possibly, but most of the Fish you catch can be translated only into Decent Sashimi. Note that, unlike the Grilled Dishes, the Fish you use will lose their individual identities when made into Sashimi. Decent Sashimi has a single shipping value, irrespective of the identity of the Fish used to create it, in other words. Good, Perfect and Shining Sashimi have higher shipping values than Decent Sashimi, but you will be capable mainly of making Decent Sashimi in the early Spring. I therefore would recommend the Matches over the Cutting Board as an initial purchase for use in cooking Fish Dishes.
Note that Chase’s Quest will start with a requirement for a Dish made with a Cutting Board. You therefore will need a Cutting Board early in the game to pursue his Quest, but not necessarily in the first week! His Quest cannot be triggered until you have completed the Red Bell Quest.
It may be useful to compare Shippiing Values and Energy Values in the form of Stamina Recovery or SR.
A raw Sardine ships for 17G. A raw Rainbow Trout ships for 109G, and a raw Catfish ships for 106G. When Grilled on a Bonfire, they may gain or lose in shipping values, depending on the type of Fish, but ALWAYS gain in Stamina Recovery.
A Grilled Rainbow Trout has a shipping value of 68G but it has an Energy Recovery value of 90SR. A Grilled Sardine has a shipping value of 27G and an Energy Recovery value of 90SR. Grilled Catfish has a shipping value of 116G and an Energy Recovery Value of 110SR. All of these values will be included in my Animal Parade Items List Guide.
In the early days, you need to be aware of shipping values of every item you obtain. You therefore would be better advised to ship your Rainbow Trout raw and to use Sardines to make Grilled Sardines in terms of benefiting most from these items.
Even Decent Sashimi fares no better in terms of Shipping Values of the Fish used. Decent Sashimi ships for 80G and has an Energy Recovery value of 80SR.
Obviously, shops charge more when selling items than you would receive if you shipped the same items. Buy Sardines from Ozzie only if you wish to Grill them for use as Energy Recovery items.
The Pot is a very useful early purchase even though it is more costly than some. With a Pot, you can take ANY of the coloured Herbs you collect throughout the Map and make Herbal Tea. Herbal Tea has roughly the same Energy Recovery value as a Grilled Fish.
The shipping values of wild Herbs is fairly low, although they do vary from colour to colour. The Blue Herb is one of the most valuable at 60G. Purple and Green Herbs are at the low end of the scale at 30G. As far as wild fruits are concerned, the Blueberry is marginally more valuable than the Raspberry at 60G as opposed to 50G.
When any Herb is made into Herbal Tea using a Pot, the shipping value becomes 52G. The Energy Value is 80 SR. Whether you cook it in a Pot to ship or to use as a Recovery Item, the Purple Herb is more valuable when converted into Herbal Tea. Herbs of any colour, as previously mentioned, can be used to great benefit as dyes for Threads but you probably will not be able to afford a Yarn Maker even if you could unlock one in the first fortnight of the game. At Level 1, however, only the Butter Maker will be available at the General Store.
Other easy Recipes for a Pot include Boiled Egg and Hot Milk, each of which requires only a single ingredient.
A Decent Chicken Egg ships for 50G. A Boiled Egg ships for more thanTWICE that at 120G with an Energy Recovery value of 100 SR. Decent Milk ships for 170G, while the same milk converted into Hot Milk ships for 283G with an Energy Recovery Value of 130 SR. As you can see, it is very profitable to convert your Decent Animal Products into simple Cooked Dishes. Note that you can obtain Milk from Sheep and Goats as well in Animal Parade and Eggs from Ostriches and Ducks.
Another easy Dish that can be made in a Pot is Jam but you need 2 Fruits of a specific variety to make it. Blueberry Jam, made with 2 Blueberries ships for 120G with a powerful Energy Recovery Value of 150 SR. Raspberry Jam, made with 2 Raspberries, similarly has an Energy Recovery Value of 150 SR, although its shipping value is slightly lower at 100G.
This brings us to a discussion of the Mixer, which can be purchased for 1200G from Barbara at the General Store. A Mixer can be used to make easy single-ingredient Dishes in the form of Juices. Although there is an advantage to doing so in terms of using fewer ingredients, the shipping values and Energy Values are lower than the corresponding Jams that could be made using two of the same fruit and a Pot.
For example, Blackberry Juice requires a single Blueberry and has a shipping value of 70G and Energy Recovery Value of 80 SR. Raspberry Juice likewise requires a single Raspberry and has a slightly lower shipping value of 60G but the same Energy Value of 80 SR.
The advantages provided by a Mixer are considerable as well, however, as it is used to create Perfumes and Medicines. With two of the Tulips that you can harvest in Spring, you can create Decent Perfume with a shipping value of 390G. Flowers can be used to creat Dyes as well and are very good gifts for most Characters. Interestingly enough, as in Tree of Tranquility, you CAN drink Perfume in a pinch for Energy Recovery, although its value as such is low, restoring only 10 SR.
Medicines are extremely useful items that are made in a Mixer. Honey is an ingredient in many Medicines. In early Spring, before you have been able to obtain Honey from bees, you can purchase Decent Honey for 100G from Ruth at the Marimba Farm. I would not advise it, however. Many Medicines can be obtained by smashing a Mole on the head with your Hammer whenever he appears in any of the Mines. You can obtain even the marvelously powerful Bodigizer XL from the Mole as soon as you have access to the Watery Cave, although the item you obtain is randomly chosen by the game. If you are determined to make your own medicine before you have access to your own Honey, the Recipe for Bodigizer requires Red Herb, Pontata Root and Honey. Bodigizer XL is made with Purple Herb, Pontata Root, Honey and an Egg.
All Recipes will be found in my Animal Parade Cookbook Recipe Guide. These are merely a few examples of Cooked Dishes that can be made.
In view of the number and type of Recipes that can be made immediately after purchasing the appropriate Cooking Utensil, my own recommendation would be to purchase the Matches first and the Pot second. Obviously, you will need ALL the Cooking Utensils ultimately but these two are the most practical at the start of the first Spring season.
There is another source of Energy Recovery in Harvest Moon that does not require any monetary investment and does not involve Cooking. The Hot Springs that are found in most Harvest Moon games can restore all or almost all of your Energy when used, depending on your maximum Stamina.
In Animal Parade, unlike Tree of Tranquility, you will not be able to use any Hot Spring at the start of the game. With the weakening of the natural power of Fire, the Hot Springs as well as the fires of the forge are cold. Your character will be unable to enter any Hot Spring until the Red Bell rings through the land, restoring the power of Fire everywhere.
Once the Red Bell Quest is completed, you will be able to use the Hot Spring behind your farmhouse once per day. Hot Springs are found in the Mines as well and can be used once per day. This is an extremely useful resource and a compelling reason to complete the Red Bell Quest as quickly as possible!
As in other Harvest Moon games, you can purchase Cooked Dishes at the restaurants but it is far less expensive to make those Dishes in your own kitchen if you can.
