In Minecraft, you can use charcoal to smelt ores, cook food, power a minecart with a furnace, or make torches. It is similar to coal and has a similar texture. However, you cannot stack charcoal with coal, and unlike coal, you cannot make charcoal blocks.
If it is your first night and you are scared of dying while mining for coal, then charcoal is the right choice for you. Charcoal is easy to get, and you don’t have to worry about dying because it does not acquired without the need to go mining.
How To Craft Charcoal
You can make charcoal by smelting wood logs in a furnace. If you are wondering what will you use to smelt logs, then don’t worry. The best option is to craft planks or craft sticks and use them to smelt the logs.
First, chop some trees to get enough wood. Then, craft a furnace, place it on the ground, and open it. Now, put the sticks or planks in the furnace, and then put the logs in the furnace. The smelting will start. Wait for it to finish, then collect your charcoal.
How To Use Charcoal
You can use charcoal like any other fuel source, such as blaze powder, coal, etc, and you can use it to smelt up to eight items. To use charcoal as fuel, right-click on any of the smelters (blast furnace, furnace, and smoker) you want to use. Add charcoal in the smelter, and then put the item you want to smelt. Wait for the smelting to finish, then collect the items.
To make torches using charcoal, open a crafting table. In the crafting menu, place some sticks and put charcoal on top of them. Then click on the torches to get them.