Minecraft wiki entry for Beginner%27s_guide, associated text: To progress in the game and even to stay alive, the player needs to know how to use a furnace. A furnace is used to cook food, turn iron and gold ores into metal, and create other specific items such as charcoal, all of which are collectively called "smelting". To use a furnace, the player must first have one. This is the crafting recipe: