# How to Get the Cold Food Box: Level 51 and Materials

The Cold Food Box in Palworld: technology level 51 for 2 points, all three build materials and the raw pile behind them, how it beats the plain Feed Box, and the best Cooling Pals to run it.

Source: https://palworld-db.com/guides/how-to-get-cold-food-box
Updated: 2026-08-06

The Cold Food Box is the level 51 replacement for the wooden Feed Box, and it is the only Pal feeding station that fights spoilage instead of ignoring it. This guide covers the technology cost, all three materials and the raw pile underneath them, the two machines you need running before you can craft any of it, and which Cooling Pals are worth the worker slot it takes.

## Cold Food Box at a Glance

Two things about this box catch people out. First, nothing in the recipe is lootable — every one of the three materials is crafted, so the real barrier is having an [Electric Furnace](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Electric%20Furnace) and a [Production Assembly Line](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Production%20Assembly%20Line) already turning, not the 2 technology points. Second, it draws no electricity at all, which makes it far friendlier than the [Refrigerator](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Refrigerator) (50 power) or the [Electric Cooler](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Electric%20Cooler) (100 power) if you want cold storage at a satellite base with no generator. What it does cost you is a permanent Cooling worker.

| What | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Type | Base structure, **Food** tab of the build menu |
| Technology level | Lv. 51 |
| Technology points | 2 (regular points, not Ancient Technology Points) |
| Materials | 20 [Pal Metal Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/StealIngot), 20 [Plasteel](https://palworld-db.com/item/Plastic), 15 [Cryogenic Coolant](https://palworld-db.com/item/Bio_Coolant) |
| Raw cost | 180 [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre), 40 [Crude Oil](https://palworld-db.com/item/CrudeOil), 40 [Paldium Fragment](https://palworld-db.com/item/Pal_crystal_S), 20 [Pure Quartz](https://palworld-db.com/item/Quartz), 15 [Ice Organ](https://palworld-db.com/item/IceOrgan), 15 [Aquatic Pal Fluids](https://palworld-db.com/item/PalFluid) |
| Worker needed | One Pal with Cooling Lv. 1 or better |
| Power draw | None |
| What it does | Pals eat from it like a normal Feed Box, and a chilling Pal keeps the food inside from spoiling as fast |
| Same row | Plasteel Armor (5 points), Laser Rifle (5), Ultimate Sphere (5), Plasteel Helmet (4), Energy Cartridge (1) |

## How to Unlock the Cold Food Box

Reach character level 51, open the [Palworld technology tree](https://palworld-db.com/research), and spend 2 points. It is the cheapest node on a very expensive row — three of its neighbours want 5 points each — so there is no reason to skip it if you have already committed to the Plasteel tier of gear. Use the [full technology list](https://palworld-db.com/tech) if you want to see what your next few levels unlock before you start spending.

| Technology at Lv. 51 | Points | Take it? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Cold Food Box** | 2 | Yes — cheapest node on the row and the only one that fixes spoilage |
| Plasteel Armor | 5 | Yes, if you are still in Refined Metal — it is the level 51 body slot |
| Plasteel Helmet | 4 | Pair it with the armor |
| Laser Rifle | 5 | Only if you have the Ancient Civilization Parts to keep it fed |
| Ultimate Sphere | 5 | Yes for capture-focused play — the last non-Ancient sphere tier |
| Energy Cartridge | 1 | Cheap, take it whenever |
| Wumpo Botan Saddle | 4 | Skip unless you actually ride [Wumpo Botan](https://palworld-db.com/pal/wumpo-botan) |
| High-Pressure Crude Oil Extractor | 4 Ancient | Different currency — costs Ancient Technology Points, not the 2 you are spending here |

## What You Need Before You Can Build It

The unlock is trivial; the supply chain behind it is not. Every material is machine-made, and the two machines involved are late-game builds that both want power. Running the Electric Furnace and the Production Assembly Line at the same time pulls 700 power, which is more than a single mid-tier generator covers, so plan the electricity before you plan the box. Counting the box itself, the whole path costs 14 technology points across five separate nodes.

| Requirement | Unlocks at | Cost | Why you need it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Character level 51 | — | 2 points | The Cold Food Box node itself |
| [Production Assembly Line](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Production%20Assembly%20Line) | Lv. 29 | 3 points, 200 power | The only place [Cryogenic Coolant](https://palworld-db.com/item/Bio_Coolant) is made; needs a Handiwork worker |
| Cryogenic Coolant technology | Lv. 31 | 2 points | Separate node — the Assembly Line cannot make coolant until you buy the recipe |
| [Electric Furnace](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Electric%20Furnace) | Lv. 44 | 5 points, 500 power | Smelts both [Pal Metal Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/StealIngot) and [Plasteel](https://palworld-db.com/item/Plastic); needs a Kindling worker |
| Plasteel technology | Lv. 50 | 2 points | The furnace can smelt Plasteel only after this node |
| A [Crude Oil](https://palworld-db.com/item/CrudeOil) supply | — | — | 40 needed; either loot oil fields or plant a Crude Oil Extractor on one |
| One Cooling Pal | — | — | The box does nothing without a chiller assigned to it |

## All Build Materials and Where to Get Them

Three materials, two stations, and one of them dwarfs the other two. The Plasteel is where your base time actually goes — 20 of it is 4,000,000 work at the furnace, four times what the ingots cost and roughly 27 times the coolant. If you are queueing this build overnight, queue the Plasteel first and let the coolant slot in around it.

| Material | Qty | Recipe per unit | Station | Work total |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Pal Metal Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/StealIngot) | 20 | 4 [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre) + 1 [Pure Quartz](https://palworld-db.com/item/Quartz) + 2 [Paldium Fragment](https://palworld-db.com/item/Pal_crystal_S) | Electric Furnace | 1,000,000 |
| [Plasteel](https://palworld-db.com/item/Plastic) | 20 | 2 [Crude Oil](https://palworld-db.com/item/CrudeOil) + 5 [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre) | Electric Furnace | 4,000,000 |
| [Cryogenic Coolant](https://palworld-db.com/item/Bio_Coolant) | 15 | 1 [Aquatic Pal Fluids](https://palworld-db.com/item/PalFluid) + 1 [Ice Organ](https://palworld-db.com/item/IceOrgan) | Production Assembly Line | 150,000 |

### Pal Metal Ingot: 20 Needed

Pal Metal has no technology node of its own — the [Electric Furnace](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Electric%20Furnace) at level 44 is the unlock, and once that is standing you can smelt it. Twenty ingots come out to 80 [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre), 20 [Pure Quartz](https://palworld-db.com/item/Quartz) and 40 [Paldium Fragment](https://palworld-db.com/item/Pal_crystal_S). Ore is the easy part with 1,632 nodes on the map, and Paldium is fine at 711, but Pure Quartz is the pinch point at 607 nodes and it is what every other Pal Metal project will also be eating. Set up an Ore Mining Site or two before you start rather than running manual laps.

| Raw material | Need | Map nodes | Best route |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre) | 80 | 1,632 | [Show every Ore node on the map](https://palworld-db.com/map?layers=res_copperore) — or automate it with a base Ore Mining Site |
| [Pure Quartz](https://palworld-db.com/item/Quartz) | 20 | 607 | [Show every Pure Quartz node on the map](https://palworld-db.com/map?layers=res_purequartz) — desert and volcanic ground |
| [Paldium Fragment](https://palworld-db.com/item/Pal_crystal_S) | 40 | 711 | [Show every Paldium Ore node on the map](https://palworld-db.com/map?layers=res_paldiumore), plus what you get from dismantling spheres |

### Plasteel: 20 Needed

Plasteel is its own node at level 50 for 2 points, and it is the expensive half of this build in both materials and machine time. Twenty units want 40 [Crude Oil](https://palworld-db.com/item/CrudeOil) and another 100 [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre), which is why the ore total for the whole box lands at 180. The oil is the awkward one: there are 185 oil fields marked across the map, and looting them by hand gets old fast. The [Crude Oil Extractor](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Crude%20Oil%20Extractor) at level 50 turns that into a renewable supply for 2 points, 250 Pal Metal Ingot and 50 [Circuit Board](https://palworld-db.com/item/MachineParts2) — but it only works planted directly on an oil field, so it usually costs you a whole base slot in the desert or on Sakurajima.

| Raw material | Need | Where it comes from | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Crude Oil](https://palworld-db.com/item/CrudeOil) | 40 | [185 oil fields on the interactive map](https://palworld-db.com/map?layers=oilfield) | Renewable only via an extractor parked on a field |
| [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre) | 100 | Mined, or automated at a base Ore Mining Site | On top of the 80 the ingots already need |

### Cryogenic Coolant: 15 Needed

Coolant is the cheapest material here by work cost and the most easily automated. Each unit is one [Aquatic Pal Fluids](https://palworld-db.com/item/PalFluid) plus one [Ice Organ](https://palworld-db.com/item/IceOrgan) at the Production Assembly Line, so 15 coolant is 15 of each. Both halves can come off a [ranch](https://palworld-db.com/ranch) instead of a hunt: [Kelpsea](https://palworld-db.com/pal/kelpsea) drops Aquatic Pal Fluids on a ranch and is the single most common Pal on the island at 1,359 spawn spots, sitting at level 9 to 19 so you can catch one at any stage of the game. [Foxcicle](https://palworld-db.com/pal/foxcicle) is the Ice Organ equivalent with 187 spots and a level 15 to 37 band. Two ranch Pals and you never farm this material again.

If you would rather kill for the organs, the yields are lopsided enough to matter. Every source below drops at a 100% rate, so the only question is how many you get per kill and how hard the fight is.

| Source | Ice Organ | How to find it | Level |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Frostallion](https://palworld-db.com/pal/frostallion) | 10 | Alpha only — no wild spawns anywhere | 60 |
| [Kingpaca Cryst](https://palworld-db.com/pal/kingpaca-cryst) | 3–6 | Alpha only — no wild spawns | 46 |
| [Moldron Cryst](https://palworld-db.com/pal/moldron-cryst) | 4–5 | Alpha only — no wild spawns | 78 |
| [Pierdon Cryst](https://palworld-db.com/pal/pierdon-cryst) | 4–5 | 50 wild spawn spots — [show on the map](https://palworld-db.com/map?pal=RockBeast_Ice) | 68–69 |
| [Bastigor](https://palworld-db.com/pal/bastigor) | 2–5 | 69 wild spawn spots — [show on the map](https://palworld-db.com/map?pal=SnowTigerBeastman) | 75–80 |
| [Foxcicle](https://palworld-db.com/pal/foxcicle) | Ranch | 187 spawn spots, and it produces on a ranch instead of dying for it | 15–37 |
| [Mau Cryst](https://palworld-db.com/pal/mau-cryst) | Ranch | Also a ranch producer, but only 3 spawn spots — hard to find | 30–45 |

> **Tip.** Build the ranch pair before the box, not after. A [Kelpsea](https://palworld-db.com/pal/kelpsea) and a [Foxcicle](https://palworld-db.com/pal/foxcicle) on a ranch cover both coolant ingredients forever, and coolant is not a one-off cost — the [Improved Furnace](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Improved%20Furnace) wants 5, the [Electric Furnace](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Electric%20Furnace) wants 10, the [Refrigerator](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Refrigerator) wants 10, and the [Ancient Kitchen](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Ancient%20Kitchen) wants 50.

## What the Cold Food Box Does

Functionally it is a Feed Box: you drop food in, and Pals working the base walk over and eat when their hunger drops. The difference is the Cooling slot. Assign an Ice Pal and the food sitting inside spoils more slowly, which matters the moment you stop stocking berries and start stocking cooked meals — a stack of proper dishes represents real Kindling time, and watching it rot because your base went unattended for an in-game week is the reason this node exists. Pocketpair has never published the exact spoilage timer, so treat the effect as a meaningful slowdown rather than a hard number.

The trade is one worker. That Pal is locked to chilling duty and is not mining, hauling or crafting while it does, so on a small base with six Pals the box costs you a sixth of your labour. On a big food-producing base it pays for itself immediately.

| Spec | Cold Food Box | Feed Box |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Technology level | 51 | 4 |
| Technology points | 2 | 2 |
| Materials | 20 [Pal Metal Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/StealIngot), 20 [Plasteel](https://palworld-db.com/item/Plastic), 15 [Cryogenic Coolant](https://palworld-db.com/item/Bio_Coolant) | 20 [Wood](https://palworld-db.com/item/Wood) |
| Worker needed | Cooling Lv. 1 | None |
| Power draw | None | None |
| Slows spoilage | Yes, with a Pal assigned | No |

## Cold Food Box vs the Other Cold Storage

Three structures keep food cold and they are not interchangeable, which trips up a lot of bases. The [Cooler Box](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Cooler%20Box) and [Refrigerator](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Refrigerator) are storage — your food, in a container, that Pals will not touch. The Cold Food Box is a feeding station — food your Pals actually eat from. If your goal is to stop your own cooked stockpile from rotting, the Cooler Box at level 13 does that for 10 Ingot, 10 Stone and 2 Ice Organ and is one of the best-value nodes in the early game. If your goal is to stop the base's feed from rotting, only the Cold Food Box does it.

| Structure | Tech | Power | Materials | What it is for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | 51 | None | 20 Pal Metal Ingot, 20 Plasteel, 15 Cryogenic Coolant | Pals eat from it — the only chilled feeder |
|  | 13 | None | 10 [Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperIngot), 10 [Stone](https://palworld-db.com/item/Stone), 2 [Ice Organ](https://palworld-db.com/item/IceOrgan) | Small chilled container for your own food |
|  | 38 | 50 | 50 [Refined Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/IronIngot), 20 [Polymer](https://palworld-db.com/item/Polymer), 10 [Cryogenic Coolant](https://palworld-db.com/item/Bio_Coolant), 5 [Circuit Board](https://palworld-db.com/item/MachineParts2) | Bigger chilled container, but needs a power line |
|  | 4 | None | 20 [Wood](https://palworld-db.com/item/Wood) | The unchilled original — keep one as overflow |

## Best Cooling Pals to Staff It

Cooling is a narrow suitability — only 38 Pals have it at all, and exactly one of them, [Bastigor](https://palworld-db.com/pal/bastigor), reaches the maximum Lv. 8. Here is the part that saves you a lot of effort: the Cold Food Box asks for Cooling Lv. 1, and so does every other Cooling structure in the game. There is no station that a Lv. 1 chiller is locked out of. That means the right pick is not the strongest Ice Pal, it is the one whose *other* jobs you do not need — a Bastigor parked on a feed box is also a Lv. 6 Lumbering and Lv. 5 Mining worker doing nothing.

| Pal | Cooling | Other jobs | Why it works |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Bastigor](https://palworld-db.com/pal/bastigor) | 8 | Lumbering 6, Mining 5 | The only Lv. 8 chiller in the game — but too valuable elsewhere to waste on a box |
| [Frostallion](https://palworld-db.com/pal/frostallion) | 7 | None | Pure chiller with no competing jobs, so nothing is wasted; you have to beat the level 60 Alpha first |
| [Pierdon Cryst](https://palworld-db.com/pal/pierdon-cryst) | 6 | Mining 5 | Second-highest Cooling with a real mining fallback, and it spawns wild in 50 spots |
| [Univolt Cryst](https://palworld-db.com/pal/univolt-cryst) | 6 | Lumbering 3 | Lv. 6 Cooling with almost nothing else to lose — a clean dedicated chiller |
| [Whalaska](https://palworld-db.com/pal/whalaska) | 6 | Watering 5 | Easy to find at 187 spawn spots and it doubles as a Lv. 5 waterer for your plantations |
| [Icelyn](https://palworld-db.com/pal/icelyn) | 5 | Handiwork 5, Medicine Production 4, Transporting 2 | Catchable in the low 40s, so it is the first decent chiller most players can actually get |
| [Wumpo](https://palworld-db.com/pal/wumpo) | 5 | Transporting 6, Lumbering 5, Handiwork 3 | Strong all-rounder — good chiller, but you will want it hauling instead |
| [Foxcicle](https://palworld-db.com/pal/foxcicle) | 4 | Farming 3 | The budget answer: level 15 to 37, 187 spawn spots, and Lv. 4 is four times more Cooling than the box needs |

Assign your pick to the box directly from the structure rather than leaving it to wander the base, or it will drift onto whatever job it is better at and leave the food warm. The [full Cooling ranking](https://palworld-db.com/best-pals/cooling) has all 38 Pals if you want to match one to what your base is short of.

## Every Structure That Needs a Cooling Pal

Once you have a chiller in the base it can serve more than the feed box, and knowing the full list helps you decide where to place it — a Pal assigned to one structure is not covering the others, so a base that wants both temperature control and cold feed needs two Ice Pals. Note how the power column splits the list: the Cold Food Box and the old stone [Cooler](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Cooler) run on nothing, while the electric versions and the [Cryogenic Crusher](https://palworld-db.com/structures?q=Cryogenic%20Crusher) want a live grid.

| Structure | Tech | Cooling needed | Power | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | 13 | Lv. 1 | None | Small food vault, slows spoilage |
|  | 18 | Lv. 1 | None | Lowers base temperature a little |
|  | 38 | Lv. 1 | 50 | Large chilled storage |
|  | 42 | Lv. 1 | 100 | Serious base cooling for hot regions |
|  | 51 | Lv. 1 | None | Chilled Pal feeding station |
|  | 54 | Lv. 1 | 300 | Production station driven by cold |

## Summary

Short version: hit level 51, spend 2 technology points, and bring 20 [Pal Metal Ingot](https://palworld-db.com/item/StealIngot), 20 [Plasteel](https://palworld-db.com/item/Plastic) and 15 [Cryogenic Coolant](https://palworld-db.com/item/Bio_Coolant) — which is 180 [Ore](https://palworld-db.com/item/CopperOre), 40 [Crude Oil](https://palworld-db.com/item/CrudeOil), 40 [Paldium Fragment](https://palworld-db.com/item/Pal_crystal_S), 20 [Pure Quartz](https://palworld-db.com/item/Quartz), 15 [Ice Organ](https://palworld-db.com/item/IceOrgan) and 15 [Aquatic Pal Fluids](https://palworld-db.com/item/PalFluid) at the bottom. You need an Electric Furnace and a Production Assembly Line already running, plus 700 power to run both at once. Then park any Ice Pal with Cooling on it — Lv. 1 is the whole requirement, so [Foxcicle](https://palworld-db.com/pal/foxcicle) does the job and your [Bastigor](https://palworld-db.com/pal/bastigor) stays free for real work.

## Related Guides

More base building and late-game structure guides:
- [Palworld structure list with materials and tech levels](https://palworld-db.com/structures)
- [All Palworld guides](https://palworld-db.com/guides)
- [Best Cooling Pals in Palworld](https://palworld-db.com/best-pals/cooling)
- [Best Base Pals: 7 Workers for Every Job](https://palworld-db.com/guides/best-base-pals)
- [Best Base Locations: Coordinates and Nodes](https://palworld-db.com/guides/best-base-locations)
- [Best Food for SAN and Hunger](https://palworld-db.com/guides/best-food-for-san)
- [All Base Level Rewards and Requirements](https://palworld-db.com/guides/all-base-level-rewards-and-requirements)
- [How to Get More Technology Points](https://palworld-db.com/guides/how-to-get-technology-points)
- [How to Get the Large Power Generator](https://palworld-db.com/guides/how-to-get-large-power-generator)
- [How to Beat Bjorn and Bastigor: Weakness, Team, and Drops](https://palworld-db.com/guides/how-to-beat-bjorn-and-bastigor)


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Palworld Database — every number on this page comes from the game's own data files.