Animal Crossing: How To Get Wheat (& What It's For) - Screen Rant

The introduction of farming and cooking has been a major source of excitement surrounding Animal Crossing: New Horizons' 2.0 update. Harvesting and preparing food has been featured in several widely popular games from the last few years, from Stardew Valley to Breath of the Wild. Fans have eagerly awaited the incorporation of farming and cooking into the latest Animal Crossing game, and now both activities have finally arrived.

Pumpkins were introduced as a crop in Animal Crossing: New Horizons during fall 2020, leading fans to wonder if others were on the way. Even without food recipes, growing pumpkins and using them in DIY recipes was fun in its own right. However, now that cooking has been introduced to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a whole new layer has been added to farming. Different crops can be made into different food items, or mixed and matched with each other to create delicious meals. Eating a cooked dish in Animal Crossing fills a player’s energy to full capacity, too, so cooking is not without a practical aspect.

Related: How Animal Crossing's Farming & Cooking Work

The update brought a variety of new crops to New Horizons. Tomatoes, potatoes, sugarcane, carrots, and wheat are now available for players to grow and harvest just like pumpkins. Each can be used in cooking as well, along with ingredients players gather around the island, like fruits and fish. All the new crops are certainly exciting, but wheat stands out among the rest thanks to its use in a number of cooking recipes. Purchasing wheat to grow is quite a useful investment if players plan to make frequent use of the cooking feature.

How to Get Wheat in Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0

Players can purchase wheat starters from Leif, the friendly gardening sloth who occasionally visits the Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. They can choose to wait until he makes a random appearance in the town square, or they can donate to Lloid to set up Leif’s permanent shop on Harv’s Island. As with his other wares, Leif sells wheat starters individually or in bulk. 

It's also possible to find wheat at the islands on Kapp’n’s boat tours. These islands are similar to those reached by Dodo’s Airlines, but Kapp’n’s will have a wide variety of other harvestables. Upon reaching the island, it might be a different season or time of day, allowing players to gather items currently out of season on their home island. Some rare islands also have fully grown crops, which players can dig out using a shovel and take back to their own island to plant. Given that these particular islands are not guaranteed, buying from Leif is the safer bet.

What Wheat is Used For in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

With all the new cooking recipes available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, wheat is something of a major staple. Flour and whole-wheat flour are the most versatile recipes for wheat, and flour appears as a needed ingredient in a multitude of dishes. Meals that involve any kind of bread or grain-based element will require a type of flour. Some might call for multiple bags of flour, which doubles or triples the amount of wheat needed to make the dish. 

Players looking to make the most of cooking may want to take extra care in cultivating their wheat. Since it appears in a variety of dishes, stores could run out quickly, so purchasing plenty of starters and watering the crops regularly is a must. Expanding storage in the island home can also make room to save any excess harvested wheat for later.

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Next: Animal Crossing: Every Island Ordinance (& Which You Should Choose)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 is available now for Nintendo Switch.