Open the campfire menu before inserting the pot
In Mayday's developer-explained cooking system, press E near the campfire, then right-click the cooking pot while that menu is open. The menu highlights eligible containers and food in your inventory. Opening the menu first is the important step if you have a pot but cannot work out how to use it.
This procedure comes from the developer's March 20, 2025 accepted Steam answer and is supported by demo player experience. Follow the displayed interaction prompt if your bindings differ.
Cook a soup step by step
Once you have a campfire, a suitable container, and ingredients, use this sequence:
- Stand near the campfire and press E to open its cooking menu.
- Look for the highlighted items in your inventory. The developer explains that usable foods and containers appear in green.
- Right-click the pot with the cooking menu still open. This inserts the container into the cooking interface.
- Add eligible ingredients to the available food slots. The developer describes a pot with four slots, allowing a combination of meats and vegetables.
- Cook the selected combination through the menu. Check the result and its displayed food or health value before planning your next meal.
The pot is a container used inside the campfire interface, so simply carrying one does not complete the interaction. If you are stuck, check whether the cooking menu is open and whether the item is highlighted before trying to combine objects elsewhere in the inventory.
You can find the original explanation in the developer's accepted cooking-pot answer on Steam.
Use coconut shells before metal pots
An iron pot is not your only cooking option. The developer identifies coconut shells as usable containers too, and a later forum explanation says the shells are left when you eat coconuts. That gives you an early route to soup before investing in metal cookware.
The same explanation mentions iron and gold pots as further options. Use the slots and item details shown for the container you actually insert; the developer's four-slot example describes a pot and should not be treated as a promise that every container has identical capacity.
This also helps separate food preparation from later crafting progression. You can start working with available shells and ingredients while continuing toward the Furnace, Forge, and other stations. There is no need to postpone all cooking until you can make every type of pot.
Choose ingredients by the result you need
Soups can have different energy and health values depending on their ingredients. In the developer's forum explanation, beetroot soup and a beetroot-and-carrot soup have different stats. Check the output rather than assuming two visually similar bowls restore the same amount.
That variation also explains why soups do not stack, according to the developer: meals can carry different stats. A lack of stacking therefore does not by itself mean the cooking attempt failed.
Before a trip, compare the values shown for the soups you actually made. A more useful result depends on the ingredients you have and the supplies you need, so an early single-ingredient soup and a fuller meal need not serve the same purpose.
FAQ
Why won't my cooking pot go into the campfire?
Open the campfire's cooking menu first, then right-click the pot while that menu remains open. Eligible inventory items should be highlighted.
Can I cook without an iron pot?
Yes. The developer also identifies coconut shells as cooking containers. Eating coconuts supplies shells in the documented system.
How many ingredients fit in a pot?
The developer's accepted answer describes four food slots for the pot. Check the interface for the particular container you are using.
Why don't my soups stack?
The developer explains that ingredients can produce different energy and health values, so soups are kept separate rather than treated as identical items.