=Food=
Food is usually the difference between a good Red Mage, and a medicore one. It can add substantial bonuses to different aspects of your character. There are many things to consider when choosing a food to eat, like +stats, +MP, MP Regen, stackability, duration, and price. The amount of food choice on the menu is dizzying. So, it's my intention to list some of the more useful ones availible, to help you make an informed decision.
Food is listed in order of Cooking level required to synth it, so up and coming Cooks can set their sights on a particular goal. This list is by no means exaustive, so feel free to make suggestions and/or corrections either by replying in the thread itself, or sending me a PM.
Roast Mushroom: +10 MP, -1 STR, +3 MND, MP Regen: 2
Witch Kabob: +15 MP, +4 MND, MP Regen: 3
This food has a decent amount of MP, a solid MND bonus, and extra MP regen. It's a somewhat pricey food (5k/stack+ on my server), but is stackable, and perfect for use when levelling up a WHM sub. The HQ version has added MND, no STR penalty, and MP Regen equal to another level of Clear Mind, making it an excellent food. You may want to look into these if you are a Tarutaru RDM that plays backline caster, as it will help offset your lower racial MND, and give you more pepper to enfeeble/nuke/heal. Witch Kabobs are an expensive habit, like most HQ foods, but since the recipe to make roast mushrooms is so low, it's not difficult to get Cooking to the point where you can reliably get HQ synths. That will help cut costs a tad.
Goblin Chocolate: -5 CHR, MP Regen: 2
Hobgoblin Chocolate: -7 CHR, MP Regen: 5
Roast mushrooms are better. This food is only worth mentioning because of its HQ version, which is the grand-daddy of MP regen food. The lack of stats is regrettable, but you won't see anything with this kind of regen for a while. If you find yourself being the main healer (which requires lots of MP, and not so much in the stats department), you'll find this food useful. If you can't take a knee often enough to make advantage of the bonus regen, skip this one.
Bubble Chocolate: MP Regen: 1
Heart Chocolate: MP Regen: 4
If you can't afford anything else, you can afford Bubble Chocolate. This is a cheap food that Cooks skill up on for several levels, so you can usually get it for a bargain. I sometimes carry around a stack to pass out to other mages in the group who don't have food. It's better than nothing... but not by much. The HQ of this food, Heart Chocolate, has 4 MP Regen, but only synths one for every twelve of the Bubble Chocolate.
Meat Chiefkabob: +5 STR, -1 VIT, +2 AGI, +1 INT, +1 CHR, +26% ATK
I hesitate to include melee food, but you may find Meat Chiefkabobs useful, depending on your playstyle. It has no +MP, and only +1 INT (normal quality verison has an INT penalty), but the +5 STR and +26% ATK will make your melee meaningful, provided you have the appropriate gear. They are also handy for the solo artist, as +ATK has the most effect when you are fighting EM/T mobs that are likely to have lower DEF.
Apple Pie: +25 MP, -1 AGI, +3 INT
Apple Pie +1: +30 MP, +4 INT, MP Regen: 2
Regular Apple Pies are a staple RDM food at low levels. They are inexpensive, only around 2k/stack, and you get a lot of bang for your buck (30 minute duration and nice bonuses). The HQ version in particular is one of the most cost-effective foods you can get your hands on. If you do any sort of nuking, absolutely need that Gravity/Sleep to stick, want solid bonus MP, or need MP regen: this is your food. It stacks, lasts for an hour, and is low enough for expert Cooks to be able to get a HQ synthing bonus on.
Pamama Tart: +10 HP/MP, -1 DEX, +3 INT, MP Regen: 2
Opo-opo Tart: +12 HP/MP, +4 INT, MP Regen: 3
This is like a +INT version of a Roast Mushroom. Downside: it doesn't stack. The HQ version of this food, the Opo-opo Tart, has better stats but also doesn't stack. Apple Pie +1 is usually a superior choice, I've only included this for completeness. If you cook these for skill, you may find them handy.
Melon Pie: +25 MP, -1 AGI, +4 INT
Melon Pie +1: +30 MP, +5 INT, MP Regen: 2
Melon pies are marginally better than Apple, with one extra point of INT. Otherwise, they are identical in all respects. It's somewhat harder to HQ on melon pies, and they are in high demand, so they are pretty expensive. Elite Red Mages tend to swear by them.
Snoll Gelato: +10 MP, +2 INT, +2 MND, MP Regen: 2
The casting stats on this food are similar to Sweet Rice Cake, but not weighed in favor of INT. It's a stackable food, and in the high mid-range of Cooking skill. Unfortunately, one of the ingredients (Snoll Arm) is difficult to get, and thus this item is reported to be expensive.
Pumpkin Pie: +40 MP, -1 AGI, +3 INT, -2 CHR
Pumpkin Pie +1: +45 MP, +4 INT, -1 CHR, MP Regen: 1
Pumpkin pies are a +MP alternative to Apple and Melon. They are a high level food, and quite expensive (best of luck finding +1 pies), but the added MP can be worth it. There isn't any regen bonus on the normal quality version, so this may be an option for you if you spend time meleeing and need the MP and +INT (such as Elvaan or Galka RDMs).
Mushroom Stew: +20 MP, -4 STR, +6 MND, MP Regen: 4
Witch Stew: +25 MP, -5 STR, +7 MND, MP Regen: 5
These stews do not stack, and last 60 minutes (90 for HQ version). The STR penalty makes this unsuitable for melee, but with the MP Regen, you will want to be kneeling as frequently as possible anyway. +MND is just a bonus. The ingredients for this stew are prohibitively expensive, and unsuitable for synthing in the field, so you'll need Gobbiebags and deep pockets.
Rolanberry Pie: +50 MP, -1 AGI, +2 INT
Rolanberry Pie +1: +60 MP, +3 INT
You won't often see these pies used in XP sessions, for the simple fact that that they don't stack, and give lower INT than Apple pies. The real reason you want to eat these is for the +MP, which is better than you'll find anywhere else. Rolanberry pies tend to be used for special purpose situations, such as a BCNM. The added MP can help you squeeze a few extra drops out of a Convert, or make up for a racial MP deficiency, but other foods are better overall for general XPing.
Brain Stew: -5 STR, +5 DEX, -5 VIT, -5 AGI, +5 INT, +5 MND, -5 CHR, HP/MP Regen: 3
Brain Stew lasts for an hour, and does not stack. At first glance, you may notice that this food is completely unsuitable for melee, which is true: with a caveat. The +5 dex will earn you 2-3 points of accuracy, which is not totally insignificant. Other than that, that +stats for casting and MP Regen make this food king. It lacks a max MP boost, which is regrettable, but the stats and regen make up for it. Expect to drop 4-8K+ an hour to feed a Brain Stew habit, and Gobbiebags are a must. Synthing in the field won't save any space, it requires 8 separate ingredients (!!!) to make, plus crystals.
Sea Bass Croute: +9 HP/MP, +3 DEX, +5 MND, MP Regen: 2
Sea Bass Croute is sort of an oddball food. It's not as good as Witch/Muchroom Stew, but it stacks, and offers a little bit of DEX to help with accuracy. They aren't in supply, usually, and the ingredients, as you might expect, will break the bank. I've included it for completeness.
Sweet Rice Cake: +17 MP, +2 VIT, +3 INT, +1 MND, HP/MP Regen: 2
I will admit up front, this is my favorite food. It offers a smattering of a everything you need to be a balanced RDM. A decent INT boost, a little MND, solid +MP, and HP/MP Regen to boot. Priced at around 5k/stack (for six hours worth of fighting), I find this to be a superior cost/benefit ratio, comparable to Apple Pie +1.
=Juice=
Drinks that restore MP are useful to RDMs at low levels, before you get Refresh. You can only have one given effect from a drink at any given time, but one that restores HP will stack with one that restores MP, for the most part (ie: Selbina Milk and Pineapple Juice can be used at the same time, but not Pineapple and Grape). No juices, except for Selbina milk (which is technically an ingredient, but you can drink it) will stack.
Orange Juice: +1MP/3sec for 60 sec
Apple Juice: +1MP/3sec for 135 sec
Pineapple Juice: +1MP/3sec for 240 sec
Melon Juice: +2MP/3sec for 135 sec
Grape Juice: +2MP/3sec for 90 sec
Yagudo Drink: +2MP/3sec for 180 sec
Vampire Juice: +2HP/MP every 3 sec for 90 sec
Generally you will only be concerned with Pineapple Juice and Yagudo drinks. Pineapple is the longest duration 1MP/tick that you can buy, and it's fairly inexpensive compared to the rest, generally a tad over 100gil per juice. If your Cooking skill is high enough, bring Water crystals and Kazham Pineapples in a 1:2 ratio with you into the field, and synth during downtime. Good for RDMs that melee a lot. Yagudo drinks give more MP over a shorter period of time, but they are pricey. You'll probably use them for BCNMs when Refresh is not available, or for powerlevelling a sub.
There are a wide variety of drinks that regen HP, from Selbina milk to Persikos au lait, but they are generally not needed once you have Regen. Keep them in mind if you ever level a melee sub, though, Persikos in particular adds +4HP/3sec for 10 minutes(!!!).
I hope you've found this list useful. Again, if anyone has any suggestions or corrections, please post them in this discussion thread, or send me a PM. Thanks!
