Drinking mayo in Stardew Valley may stress out your loved ones and the NPCs, but it's actually a great strat
This is what peak performance looks like.
Stardew Valley's 1.6 update has provided players with some bizarre new encounters and abilities. We've seen Mr. Qi beat up cheating players at the Summit and creepy mannequins that may try to steal your clothes, but all of this pales in comparison to the true horror of 1.6: Mayonnaise Enjoyers.
During the build-up to 1.6, Eric Barone posted one patch note per day as a sort of countdown to the update's release. Most of them were relatively unexciting, like reducing the amount of time to push against a pet before walking through it or giving spouses a seven-day honeymoon period after marriage. However, one of the last notes broke this boring streak as Barone tweeted out that "you can now drink mayonnaise."
This was met with the expected assortment of cursed replies and celebrations. I just brushed it off as a funny addition and a mildly sick joke: Yeah, you can drink mayo, but why would anyone want to do that? Well, it turns out that mayo may be the answer to all my problems in Stardew Valley.
I'm no speedrunner, but I do like cleaning up my farm as fast as possible. Because of this, I usually find myself with little to no energy at the end of each day or having to go to bed early to avoid passing out in my fields. I've always just eaten whatever root vegetable I could get my hands on or stocked up on field snacks, which give you 45 energy and 20 health, but 1.6 has given me a new way to replenish energy: mayonnaise.
It may sound horrible, but drinking mayo will give you at least 50 energy and 22 health, which means it's your best option for consistent energy to help you tend to your farm early on.
Getting the resources you need to make mayo is also pretty easy. If you choose to start with a Meadowlands farm, you'll get two chickens straight off the bat, which'll give you two eggs every day, so that's the ingredients sorted. Then you'll need to make a mayonnaise machine which requires a copper bar, an Earth Crystal, wood and stone, and farming level two. One mayo-speedrunner, LarkyLovesYou_ demonstrates how you can build the machine in under 18 minutes.
Having tubs of mayo on you is a great way to make the most out of your time each day, as it'll give you plenty of energy to really explore the mines and properly tend to your farm. But that doesn't mean your rogue behaviour will be accepted in the community. One player posted a video to Twitter demonstrating how various characters will react if you dare to drink mayo in front of them, and it's not great. In only 20 seconds, they manage to properly freak out Gus, Shane, Harvey, and Marnie. So, while drinking mayo is great for your farm, it's probably best to do so in secret and not anywhere near any of the villagers, if you value your reputation.