Stardew Valley: Everything You Need To Know About Preserves Jars

Transforming your humble crops into lucrative artisan goods is a cornerstone of Stardew Valley's economic success. While large-scale Jelly and Wine production often takes center stage at higher levels, the humble Preserves Jar offers early-game players a surprisingly powerful tool for boosting profits. These unassuming jars unlock a world of crafting possibilities, significantly increasing the value of your fruits, vegetables, and foraged finds, and are crucial for maximizing the returns from your Fish Ponds.

The Preserves Jar's versatility shines through in its ability to create a variety of artisan goods. This guide will cover everything you need to know to master this essential farming tool, especially with the exciting additions in Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, which allows for pickling a vast array of foraged items, from common Dandelions to rare Purple Mushrooms.

Updated January 11, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: This guide has been updated to reflect the expanded pickling options introduced in Stardew Valley's 1.6 update.

Obtaining Preserves Jars

Unlocking the Preserves Jar recipe requires reaching Farming Level 4. You'll need the following materials:

• 50 Wood
• 40 Stone
• 8 Coal

These materials are readily available early in the game. Wood comes from chopping trees, stone from mining rocks, and coal is most efficiently obtained by defeating Dust Sprites in the Mines.

Beyond crafting, you can also receive a Preserves Jar as a reward for completing the Quality Crops Bundle (or Rare Crops Bundle in the remixed version) in the Community Center. They may also occasionally appear in the Prize Machine at Mayor Lewis' house.

Uses for Preserves Jars

The Preserves Jar transforms various ingredients into valuable artisan goods. Selecting 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: 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 Items: 1.75x base item energy & 1.75x base item health; Inedible Items: 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
Any Other Fish Roe	Aged Roe	60 + (base fish price)	100 Energy, 45 Health	2-3 days

Note: Only energy-positive mushrooms and foraged items can be pickled. The sell price calculation uses the base item value, regardless of quality. Prioritize using lower-quality produce for maximum profit.

Preserves Jars vs. Kegs

Preserves Jars and Kegs are often compared. Preserves Jars are more profitable 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 candidates. Crucially, Preserves Jars are the *only* way to process Fish Roe and many Mushrooms, making them essential for Fish Pond setups and maximizing mushroom profits.