I found myself feeling the same way during development. If I were to make something like this outside of a jam, one of the most important features would be some sort of chart the player can access at any time showing all discovered items, and all discovered methods of creating them. For a game any larger than the scope of this jam, I think that might be necessary to avoid forcing players to rely on note taking/an unfair amount of memorization. I also agree that with some testing, I could probably create a set of recipes that make it easier for players to predict, and plan their solution, but sometimes the unexpected interactions are what make the game fun. It would be a difficult balancing act. Thank you for the feedback!