Custom Food

Creating custom food items in AbyssalLib is highly flexible thanks to the DataComponent system. In this guide, we will transform a standard item into something a player can eat to restore hunger and saturation.

To create a custom food, you need to utilize Item#setData and apply both the Food and Consume components.

Adding the Food component

To make the item mathematically "edible" to the server (providing hunger/saturation), we will set the Food DataComponent.

item.setData(new Food(FoodProperties.food()
    .canAlwaysEat(false)
    .nutrition(3)
    .saturation(4.5f)
    .build()));

Method	Information
`canAlwaysEat`	Whether or not the player can eat the item while their nutrition is already full.
`nutrition`	Amount of nutrition to restore.
`saturation`	Amount of saturation (hidden anti-hunger mechanic) to restore.

While this gives the item food properties, if you try to eat the item in-game now, it will not work because the item lacks the timing needed to be consumed.

Adding the Consumable component

To make the item physically eaten by the player, we add the Consume component similarly to the Food DataComponent.

item.setData(new Consume(Consumable.consumable()
    .consumeSeconds(0.8f)
    .build()));

Method	Information
`addEffect`	Adds a single `ConsumeEffect` (like gaining a Potion Effect).
`addEffects`	Adds multiple `ConsumeEffect` instances.
`animation`	Sets the `ItemUseAnimation` to be used during consumption (e.g., eat, drink).
`consumeSeconds`	Sets the time (in seconds) it takes to finish eating the item.
`effects`	Sets the `ConsumeEffect` instances that should occur upon completion.
`hasConsumeParticles`	Sets whether crumb particles should spawn during consumption.
`sound`	Sets the sound that should play during consumption.

Bringing it all together

With both components applied, our food item is fully functional. Here is how a complete registration might look:

public static final Item EDIBLE_PAPER = register("edible_paper", item -> {
    item.setData(new ItemModel(NamespacedKey.minecraft("paper")));
    
    // 1. Give it food properties
    item.setData(new Food(FoodProperties.food()
        .canAlwaysEat(true)
        .nutrition(3)
        .saturation(4.5f)
        .build()));
        
    // 2. Give it consume properties
    item.setData(new Consume(Consumable.consumable()
        .consumeSeconds(0.8f)
        .hasConsumeParticles(true)
        .build()));
});

05 June 2026