Cooking

Cooking is one of the many skills to be gained in The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

A higher cooking skill reduces the chances of a Sim accidentally causing a fire while cooking. In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, Sims will learn to make different meals as their Cooking skill increases, and the chance that they will burn a meal will go down. Some careers require cooking skills, most notably the Culinary career.

To increase a Sim's cooking skills, they may need to buy a bookcase and read a cooking book. In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, preparing food, even cold food such as cereal or sandwiches, also increases the skill. Even so, it's still recommended to have a few skill points before attempting to cook on a stove, as one constant in the Sims games is that an unskilled cook using a stove is liable to start a fire.

In The Sims and The Sims 3, the Cooking skill determines how satisfying a meal is when a Sim has made it. The better the Sim's Cooking skill, the faster the hunger bar will be filled. Cooking with fresh food improves the quality of the meal in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

The Sims
In The Sims, cooking is a very important skill, as using a stove with less than three points carries a risk of fire, and using one with no Cooking skill at all is a high fire risk. Sims with low Cooking skill can use a microwave, which only has a small chance of starting a fire, but meals made in a microwave are not as satisfying as those cooked on a stove. Also, if a kitchen has both a stove and a microwave, the player cannot choose which one the Sim will use. The only way to be sure that a low-skilled Sim uses a microwave is to not give him or her anything else.

Higher cooking skill will reduce the amount of time a Sim without a food processor needs to prepare and cook a meal.

The Sims: Makin' Magic
In The Sims: Makin' Magic, cooking is vastly improved, with Sims able to collect ingredients and bake bread, pie, or cake. However, the baking oven carries a slightly higher fire risk than a regular stove; Sims need at least five points to use it safely. Several new appliances included in the expansion pack can increase a Sim's Cooking skill, such as the Old-Fashioned Butter Churn and the Wax'n'Honey Maker. There is also a cookbook with recipes for baked goods and nectars, as using incorrect ingredients will produce a burned mess or undrinkable liquid, regardless of the maker's Cooking skill.

In Makin' Magic, the Cooking skill also determines how many charges a magical Sim will get when making a spell.

The Sims 2
Cooking skill can be gained from the bookshelf, by preparing a meal, by using the Culinary career reward object, which is the chocolate maker, or by watching the cooking channel (Yummy Channel) on television.

While cooking skill does not actually determine amount of satisfaction of the same food, a higher cooking skill means the Sim can cook other things, with a higher satisfaction, and less chance of fire or burning. In addition, high-level Sims will occasionally giggle and mock the program when watching the Yummy Channel.

If the The Sims 2: FreeTime is installed, studying the cooking skill from a book or by watching the Yummy Channel will increase a Sim's enthusiasm for the Cuisine hobby.

Food by cooking level
Open for Business allows Sims to Make any meal, except for a TV Dinner, they have the skill to prepare at any time of day.

The Sims 3
Cooking as a skill returns in The Sims 3. The skill is augmented by the Natural Cook trait. The level of cooking skill determines what quality dishes can be made, what kinds of foods can be made, and the likelihood of whether the cooker will start a fire (if using appliances that aren't fireproof). However, Sims are not able to make certain foods until they learn the recipes for them. Several opportunities exist for skilled cooks. Sims can purchase cooking books and from there learn how to cook certain foods.