Calculator

Hunger & Saturation

Saturation is the hidden buffer underneath your hunger bar — it drains first, before any visible hunger is lost. Foods with higher saturation density last longer between meals.

Hunger to restore

Bar is 20 points (10 drumsticks × 2).

Most efficient foods

All foods

40 items · click a column to sort
/give
Golden Carrot614.42.40×
Cooked Porkchop812.81.60×
Steak812.81.60×
Rabbit Stew10121.20×
Golden Apple49.62.40×
Enchanted Golden Apple49.62.40×
Cooked Salmon69.61.60×
Cooked Mutton69.61.60×
Mushroom Stew67.21.20×
Cooked Chicken67.21.20×
Beetroot Soup67.21.20×
Suspicious Stew67.21.20×
Bread561.20×
Cooked Cod561.20×
Baked Potato561.20×
Cooked Rabbit561.20×
Pumpkin Pie84.80.60×
Carrot33.61.20×
Spider Eye23.21.60×
Apple42.40.60×
Chorus Fruit42.40.60×
Raw Porkchop31.80.60×
Raw Beef31.80.60×
Raw Rabbit31.80.60×
Melon Slice21.20.60×
Raw Chicken21.20.60×
Poisonous Potato21.20.60×
Raw Mutton21.20.60×
Beetroot11.21.20×
Honey Bottle61.20.20×
Rotten Flesh40.80.20×
Dried Kelp10.60.60×
Potato10.60.60×
Raw Cod20.40.20×
Raw Salmon20.40.20×
Cookie20.40.20×
Sweet Berries20.40.20×
Glow Berries20.40.20×
Tropical Fish10.20.20×
Pufferfish10.20.20×

How hunger, saturation, and exhaustion work

  • Hunger: the visible bar — 20 points total (10 drumsticks). At 18+ you regenerate HP slowly; at 0 you starve.
  • Saturation: a hidden buffer, capped at the current hunger value. Drains first when exhaustion accumulates — only after it hits 0 does visible hunger drop.
  • Exhaustion: a second hidden bar that fills from sprinting (0.1/m), jumping (0.05), attacking (0.1), damage (0.1/HP). At 4.0 exhaustion, 1 saturation (or 1 hunger if no saturation) is consumed.
  • Density column: saturation ÷ hunger. Foods above 1.0× give more saturation than hunger and last longer between meals. Anything ≥ 2.0× is exceptional.
  • Saturation gained from eating is capped at the resulting hunger value — you can't store more saturation than your current visible hunger.

Related commands

FAQ

What is saturation in Minecraft?
Saturation is a hidden bar that sits underneath your visible hunger bar. It drains first when you perform exhausting actions (sprinting, jumping, fighting). Only after saturation reaches zero does the visible hunger bar start to drop. Higher saturation means longer time before you actually get hungry.
What food has the most saturation?
Golden Carrot is the saturation king at 14.4 saturation per bite. Cooked Porkchop and Steak (cooked beef) tie for second at 12.8, followed by Rabbit Stew at 12. Cooked Salmon, Cooked Mutton, Golden Apple, and Enchanted Golden Apple all provide 9.6 saturation. Golden Carrot has the highest saturation density (2.4× per hunger point) and is renewable from villager farms, making it the best survival food.
How is saturation calculated when you eat food?
Eating food adds `min(saturationModifier, newHungerLevel)` to your saturation. So eating a Golden Carrot (saturation modifier 14.4) when you already have 20 hunger only adds 14.4 saturation, not more. Saturation can never exceed your current hunger value.
Why is bread better than apples?
Apples give 4 hunger / 2.4 saturation (density 0.6). Bread gives 5 hunger / 6 saturation (density 1.2). Bread restores 25% more hunger AND 2.5× more saturation per item, so it lasts much longer between meals. The only reason to eat apples is when you have an abundance of them.
Does the /effect saturation command refill hunger?
Yes. /effect give @p saturation 1 1 instantly fills the hunger bar to maximum and tops up saturation to match. Each level of the Saturation effect restores 1 hunger and 1 saturation per tick — so even one second at level 1 effectively maxes out a starving player.
What is exhaustion in Minecraft?
Exhaustion is a third, completely hidden bar that accumulates from actions: sprinting adds 0.1 per meter, jumping 0.05 per jump, attacking 0.1 per hit, taking damage 0.1 per HP lost. When exhaustion reaches 4.0, one point of saturation is consumed; if saturation is 0, one hunger point is consumed instead. The exhaustion counter then resets to zero.