Mushroom

Mushrooms are a farmed edible crop grown from Dusk Caps in a carbon dioxide environment. They are a basic late-early to mid-game food source because they convert Slime into a renewable crop without requiring advanced industrial materials, and they can be processed directly into stronger meals.

A single Mushroom provides 2400 kcal and has a mass of 1000 g. One crop cycle produces 320 kcal, so it takes 3.125 cycles to grow enough for 1000 kcal. Producing 1000 kcal of Mushroom requires 12.5 kg of Slime. In practical terms, if Mushrooms are the only food being produced, each Duplicant needs 5/12 of a Mushroom per cycle, which works out to 3.125 Dusk Caps and 12.5 kg of Slime per cycle.

Mushrooms are notable for their food chain flexibility. They can be cooked into Fried Mushroom at the Electric Grill, or combined with Lettuce at the Gas Range to make Mushroom Wrap. They are also consumed by the Juicer, which converts them into a morale- and strength-boosting drink. This makes them useful both as a direct calorie source and as an ingredient for higher-value food and morale production.

Because Mushroom farming depends on Dusk Caps, the crop inherits their environmental needs: Slime and a carbon dioxide atmosphere. That makes Mushroom production especially natural in polluted or low-oxygen farming setups where carbon dioxide is plentiful. The crop is also closely tied to Slime handling, so large-scale production usually involves storing or transporting Slime efficiently rather than relying on hand delivery.

• Mushrooms are a renewable food source, but they are only as sustainable as the colony’s Slime supply.
• Their low per-cycle output means farms often need a significant number of Dusk Caps to feed many Duplicants.
• They are most valuable when processed into better meals or morale items rather than eaten raw.
• Since they grow in carbon dioxide, they fit well in enclosed farm rooms or industrial areas where that gas is available.

Mushrooms should not be confused with other foods that look similar in use cases: they are a crop item, not a cooked meal, and their entire production chain depends on farming Dusk Caps rather than harvesting from the wild.