Description
In Minecraft smelting is the process of heating raw materials to transform them into more useful items. Think of turning sand into glass or iron ore into iron ingots this is what smelting is. It is also the process for cooking food.
What tools are used for smelting
There are 3 ways to smelt in Minecraft. The main one and the first that you will come across is the furnace. It is obtained early in the game. It can smelt all the materials that you would require smelting in the game. The next option is to use a blast furnace. It is used to smelt ores and does so twice as fast as a furnace. For cooking food the smoker is the upgrade option from a furnace.
Lets take a closer look at these different types of smelting
Furnace – As explained above the furnace is the main starting point of smelting in the game. To make it, place 8 cobblestone into the crafting table around the edge. Then, place the furnace into your inventory. The furnace will basically cook anything in Minecraft that you need to cook.
Here is what can be cooked in a furnace and what it turns in to.
| Type of block. | Starting block. | Ending block. |
|---|---|---|
| Ores and blocks. | Iron ore. | Iron ingot. |
| Ores and blocks. | Gold ore. | Gold ingot. |
| Ores and blocks. | Copper ore. | Copper ingot. |
| Ores and blocks. | Ancient debris. | Netherite Scrap. |
| Ores and blocks. | Netherrack. | Nether brick. |
| Ores and blocks. | Cobblestone. | Stone. |
| Ores and blocks. | Sand. | Glass. |
| Ores and blocks. | Clay. | terracotta |
| Food items. | Raw beef. | Steak. |
| Food items. | Raw chicken. | Cooked chicken. |
| Food items. | Raw porkchop. | Cooked porkchop. |
| Food items. | Raw mutton. | Cooked mutton. |
| Food items. | Raw fish. | Cooked fish. |
| Food items. | Potatoes. | Baked potatoes. |
| Food items. | Kelp. | Dried kelp. |
| Miscellaneous. | Wood logs. | Charcoal. |
| Miscellaneous. | Cactus. | Green dye. |
| Miscellaneous. | Sea pickle. | Lime dye. |
| Miscellaneous. | Wooden tools. | Fuel. |
This is a list of items that can be cooked in a furnace. It includes what each item becomes and the group it belongs to. There are many more things you can cook in a furnace. However, these are the main items to get you started.
Next lets look at the blast furnace
A blast furnace is made by placing a furnace in the centre. Then, position three smooth stones along the bottom of the crafting table layout. Next place iron ingots in the remaining spaces. Once done move into your inventory and you have a blast furnace. A blast furnace is the job block that can be used to turn a villager into an armourer. This block can be placed into a trading post to trade armourer items. Alternatively, place it as a stand-alone block with a single villager. In Minecraft, a blast furnace is a specialized block. It increases the speed of processing ores. It also enhances efficiency. It will also act a light source similar to how a standard furnace would act as a light source. It will take half the time that it takes to smelt ores so is a good end to late game addition.
Lets now look at the smoker
The smoker is similar to the blast furnace in that it will speed up the cooking process. Obviously the smoker will cook food as opposed to ores. To craft a smoker, you will need to place a furnace in the centre block. Then place logs above, below, left, and right of the furnace. You can then drag the smoker into your inventory. The smoker will cook all the foods that the furnace can cook. However, it will take half the time to process.