I’m in the late-noob stage (playing since release) and my storage is packed with items that I have no idea what to use them for. All kinds of fluids and plants and animal bits.
I don’t know what button you would use for console, but selecting an item’s description and seeing “used for making X, Y, Z” would be greatly useful. I suppose doing it from Knowledge would work as well.
Don’t need the how, but knowing that “this item” is used to make “that thing” can at least point us toward wondering what “that thing” is.