Stardew Valley: Everything You Need To Know About Preserves Jars

Crafting artisan goods from your crops is a fantastic way to boost your income in Stardew Valley. While large-scale Jelly and Wine production comes later, Preserves Jars offer an early-game advantage for maximizing profits. These versatile containers unlock a world of crafting possibilities, significantly increasing the value of your fruits, vegetables, and foraged goods, and are essential for making the most of your Fish Ponds.

Preserves Jars offer diverse crafting options, turning your harvest into profitable artisan goods. They're key to boosting profits from fruits and vegetables and are crucial for maximizing Fish Pond yields. This guide covers everything you need to know about using them effectively.

Updated January 11, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: Stardew Valley's 1.6 update expanded the Preserves Jar's capabilities dramatically! Now, a wide array of foraged items, from common Dandelions to rare Purple Mushrooms, can be pickled, adding another layer to crafting and foraging strategies.

Obtaining Preserves Jars

You unlock the Preserves Jar recipe at Farming Level 4. You'll need:

• 50 Wood
• 40 Stone
• 8 Coal

These materials are readily available early on, making Preserves Jars an excellent choice for quickly producing artisan goods. You can also obtain a Preserves Jar as a reward for completing the Quality Crops Bundle (or Rare Crops Bundle in the remixed version) in the Community Center, or potentially from the Prize Machine.

Uses for Preserves Jars

Preserves Jars transform various ingredients into artisan goods. Choosing the Artisan profession at Farming Level 10 boosts the sale price of these goods by 40%.

Item	Product	Sell Price	Health/Energy	Processing Time
Fruit	Jelly	2x (base fruit value) + 50	Edible: 2x base fruit energy & health; Inedible: 0.5x base fruit value (health), 0.225x base fruit value (energy)	2-3 days
Vegetable, Mushroom, or Forage	Pickles	2x (base item value) + 50	Edible: 1.75x base item energy & health; Inedible: 0.625x base item value (energy), 0.28125x base item value (health)	2-3 days
Sturgeon Roe	Caviar	500g	175 Energy, 78 Health	4 days
Other Fish Roe	Aged Roe	60 + (base fish price)	100 Energy, 45 Health	2-3 days

Only energy-positive Mushrooms and Forage items can be pickled. The sell price is based on the base item value, regardless of quality. Use your lowest-quality produce for maximum profit.

Preserves Jars vs. Kegs

Preserves Jars and Kegs both create artisan goods, but their profitability varies. Preserves Jars are more efficient for fruits under 50g and vegetables/forage under 160g. They also process much faster. High-yield, low-value crops like Eggplants, wild berries, Corn, and Tomatoes are ideal. Preserves Jars are the *only* way to process Fish Roe and are essential for Fish Pond setups. Mushrooms, which cannot be used in Kegs, also benefit greatly from the Preserves Jar's faster processing time and higher profit margin compared to the Dehydrator.