Why smoker is so important in Minecraft

Many players begin a Minecraft world by crafting two specific blocks. A crafting table is always first so that players can craft the other blocks they need. The second block they craft after that is usually a furnace.

This is because furnaces provide a valuable service: smelting. Raw food and raw resources get turned into useful versions of themselves through a furnace.

However, down the line, an upgraded version of the furnace will be more helpful. Here's why smokers are so essential for players.

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Why smokers are an important block in Minecraft

Players can get by using furnaces for the entirety of their playthrough. However, using a blast furnace for resources and a smoker for food will prove to be extremely helpful.

A smoker will cook raw food in half the time a furnace will. The furnace smelt items at a speed of one every 10 seconds, which roughly translates to six items every minute. Smokers will cook food much faster, allowing players to get more done.

Obtaining a smoker isn't difficult, either. Though that is a relatively rare occurrence, they can spawn in butcher's houses in Minecraft villages. They can be crafted with a furnace and four wood, logs, or stripped logs.

Smoker crafting recipe (Image via Mojang)

Any fuel source can be used in a smoker, including (in order from best to worst):

• Lava bucket
• Block of coal
• Dried kelp block
• Blaze rod
• Piece of coal
• Piece of charcoal
• Boat
• Scaffolding
• Bee nest
• Beehive
• Log
• Stripped log
• Wood
• Planks
• Wooden Slabs
• Wooden Stairs
• Wooden Buttons
• Wooden Pressure Plates
• Wooden Trapdoors
• Wooden Fenceposts
• Wooden Fence Gates
• Ladder
• Crafting Table
• Cartography Table
• Fletching Table
• Smithing Table
• Loom
• Bookshelf
• Lecturn
• Composter
• Chest
• Jukebox
• Note Block
• Barrel
• Mushroom Block
• Daylight Detector
• Wooden Door
• Wooden Sign
• Any Wooden Tool (Crossbows, Bows, and Fishing Rods included)
• Bowl
• Sapling
• Stick
• Azalea
• Any Wool (and Carpet)
• Bamboo
• Iron Nugget
• Gold Nugget
• Nether Brick

Using any Minecraft fuel source in a smoker will put them to much better use than in a furnace.