Stardew Valley: Everything You Need To Know About Preserves Jars

Crafting artisan goods from your crops is a lucrative way to boost your income in Stardew Valley. While large-scale production using Jelly and Wine setups comes later, Preserves Jars are an early-game asset for significant profit increases.

Preserves Jars offer diverse crafting options, significantly enhancing profits from fruits, vegetables, and even making Fish Ponds more rewarding. This guide details everything you need to know about maximizing their use.

Updated January 11, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: Stardew Valley's 1.6 update introduced a fantastic new feature: pickling! A wide array of foraged items, from common Dandelions to rare Purple Mushrooms, can now be preserved for increased value. This updated guide incorporates all the new pickling possibilities.

Where To Get Preserves Jars In Stardew Valley

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

• 50 Wood
• 40 Stone
• 8 Coal

These materials are readily available, making Preserves Jars ideal for quickly producing large quantities of artisan goods. Wood comes from chopping trees, stone from breaking rocks (with your pickaxe), and coal is most efficiently farmed from dust sprites in the Mines.

Besides crafting, you receive a Preserves Jar for completing the Quality Crops Bundle (or Rare Crops Bundle in the remixed version) in the Community Center. They might also appear in the Prize Machine at Mayor Lewis's house.

What Are Preserves Jars Used For In Stardew Valley?

Various items can be preserved in a Preserves Jar, each yielding a different artisan good. 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 Fruit: 2x base fruit energy & 2x base fruit health; Inedible Fruit: Health: 0.5x base fruit value, Energy: 0.225 base fruit value	2-3 in-game days
Vegetable, Mushroom, or Forage	Pickles	2x (base item value) + 50	Edible Items: 1.75x base item energy & 1.75x base item health; Inedible Items: Energy: 0.625x base item value, Health: 0.28125 base item value	2-3 in-game days
Sturgeon Roe	Caviar	500g	175 Energy, 78 Health	4 in-game days
Any Other Fish Roe	Aged Roe	60 + (base fish price)	100 Energy, 45 Health	2-3 in-game days

Only energy-positive Mushrooms and Forage items can be pickled. Prices are calculated from the base item value, regardless of quality. Use your lowest-quality produce for maximum profit.

Preserves Jars or Kegs?

Preserves Jars and Kegs are both used for artisan goods, but Preserves Jars are more profitable for fruits under 50g and vegetables/forage under 160g. They also process much faster. High-yield, low-value items like Eggplants, wild berries, Corn, and Tomatoes are excellent choices. Preserves Jars are essential for Fish Roe processing and are the only way to increase the value of Mushrooms.