Question about food selection

How do the little dwarves decide what food to eat? I ask because it seems they consistently prefer certain foods over others even within broad categories (raw, campfire, kitchen, bakery) except in case of allergies. So, for example, if I stock 50 each of baked apples, baked potatoes, and baked tomatoes before the winter, they’ll eat all the apples first, then all the potatoes, and then finally start the tomatoes. By the end of the second year on my first colony, I had 128 baked tomatoes still in stock but no baked apples or potatoes. And I can’t every keep bread in stock, because my colonists eat it as quickly as it’s produced. Do they just go in alphabetical order if there isn’t an allergy or favorite in contention? And how does the game check for “food variety” in the later stages?

Honestly just curious.

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The rules I laid out intentionally are:

  • Always eat food you’re allergic to last
  • Try to fulfill your expectations first
  • If the expectations are fulfilled, prefer the more advanced food (bakery > kitchen > campfire > raw)

Within one category they might go in a certain order though (like bread may be the first baked food to be taken). This is not intentional, but I can totally see it happening.

Yeah, it’s hilarious. I have two farmers baking nearly 24/7, but I’ve never been able to get a stockpile of more than about 20 bread before it disappears. They’re always eating bread before the other two.

i also vote on that , i always ended with more tomatoes on stock than any other food , same for higher tiers, idk if it a problem on the version i played , but veteran colonist had some problem with the food requirement where they want variety , but dont actually eat different food tier, so i am forced to order them to eat from other food stand , so it is satisfied and i could get a new immigrant .

the struggle is real with the bread. lol

Yeah, you’re right… I prioritized it a little higher.