Energy and Cooking: What's the point?

If you need Energy, why not just eat a fruit? I mean, how often do you want/need to break rocks that there needs to be this otherwise seemingly pointless cooking system in order to handle it?

And they probably should've just made a pickaxe tool for breaking rocks. Would've been far quicker and easier for everyone involved on the programming side...

edit: Just unlocked cooking this morning (along with the Harv's Island expansion, Kapp'n, finding Brewster, and island ordinances - plus Opal just moved in, so it's been a busy morning) and I fail to see why I would want to spend extra time to turn 2 Pears into Pear Puree to give the same 2 Energy I don't need that just eating the Pears would've given.