Stardew Valley: Preserves Jars vs Kegs - Which Is Better?

Artisan goods are a great source of money inStardew Valley. From wine and cheese to jelly and mayonnaise, you can become an expert in anything. To make these goods, you will need specific pieces of equipment though.

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Two of these pieces of equipment, the keg and preserves jar, are pretty similar. You add fruits or vegetables and receive jam, juice, or wine a few days later. Which one is more profitable though? In this guide, we are going to look at kegs and preserves jars to see which one is better.

Updated October 13, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: Jars vs. kegs; which one is truly better in Stardew Valley? We've updated this guide with more information on this eternal debate, helping you decide which piece of equipment you want to prioritize. Don't forget that it's encouraged to use both!

Kegs

Kegs can be crafted with one copper bar, one iron bar, one oak resin, and 30 wood once you reach farming level eight.

Adding various crops to kegs allows you to create beverages, such as beer and coffee. Below, you can find what beverages will be produced based on the item that you add.

Beverage

Ingredients

Time until Complete

Sell Price

Beer

1x Wheat

1 Day

200g

Coffee

5x Coffee Beans

2 Hours

150g

Green Tea

1x Tea Leaves

3 Hours

100g

Juice

1x Vegetable (any variety)

4 Days

2.25 x base price of vegetable

Mead

1x Honey

10 Hours

200g

Pale Ale

1x Hops

1 to 2 Days

300g

Wine

1x Fruit (any variety)

6 to 7 Days

3 x base price of fruit

As you can see above, the price of wine and juice is dependent on the fruits and vegetables added. For example, cherries sell for a base price of 80g, however, when turned into cherry wine, it will sell for a base price of 240g.

What Are Casks?

Mead, wine, and pale ale can also be added to casks. Doing so will 'age' the product, raising the quality. If you add wine to a cask, you can increase the quality to iridium, and the wine will now sell for twice as much. For example, if the cherry wine from earlier is added to a cask, then it will now cost 480g.

Casks unlock once you get the final farmhouse upgrade; you will have a bunch in your cellar, but you can craft more, with each one requiring 20 wood and one hardwood.

Preserves Jar

Preserves jars can be crafted with eight coal, 40 stone, and 50 wood once you reach farming level four.

Now, let's take a look at the preserves jar. This item will turn fruit into jelly, vegetables into pickles, and roe into caviar. Below, you can find each item that the preserves jar produces.

Product

Ingredients

Time until Complete

Sell Price

Pickles

1 Vegetable (any variety, including ginger)

2 to 3 Days

2 x vegetable base price, + 50

Jelly

1 Fruit (any variety)

2 to 3 Days

2 x fruit base price, + 50

Caviar

1 Sturgeon Roe

4 Days

500g

Aged Roe

1 Roe

2 to 3 Days

2 x roe base price

Similar to adding fruits and vegetables to a keg, prices will vary when these items are added to the preserves jar. If we added a cherry to the preserves jar, then a cherry jelly will be produced a few days later that sells for 210g.

Which One Is More Profitable?

So, which one is more profitable? There is no simple answer to this question. While looking at the selling price for the items, you may think that kegs are better. A keg will triple the price of fruit, while a preserves jar just doubles the price. Going by this, the keg seems better, but you have to take into account the processing time.

After about six days, one keg will produce cherry wine that costs 240g. During this time, a preserves jar can process cherries into jelly twice. These two cherry jellies will cost 520g. Unlike jelly, the cherry wine can then be added to a cask, boosting the selling price even more.

Based on individual items, kegs are more profitable for fruits, while preserves jars are more profitable for vegetables. Below, you can find the best items for the keg and preserves jar determined by the selling price per item.

Best Items For Kegs

Fruits

Vegetables

Ancient Fruit

Apple

Banana

Cactus Fruit

Cherry

Coconut

Cranberries

Crystal Fruit

Grape

Mango

Melon

Orange

Peach

Pineapple

Pomegranate

Rhubarb

Spice Berry

Starfruit

Strawberry

Wild Plum

Pumpkin

Red Cabbage

Hops

Wheat

Best Items For Preserves Jars

Fruits

Vegetables

Apricot

Blackberry

Blueberry

Hot Pepper

Qi Fruit

Salmonberry

Amaranth

Artichoke

Beet

Bok Choy

Cauliflower

Corn

Eggplant

Fiddlehead Fern

Garlic

Green Bean

Kale

Parsnip

Potato

Radish

Taro Root

Tea Leaves

Tomato

Unmilled Rice

Yam

Overall, kegs make more money over a longer period of time, while preserves jars are best for making money quickly. The processing time for preserves jar is quicker, meaning that you can sell the pickled items and jellies to make money immediately.

Should You Prioritize The Keg Or Preserves Jar?

You can make a bit more money if you prioritize the keg, but since this unlocks a bit later than the preserves jar, we suggest using the latter machine to make money prior to farming level eight.

Because of this, you should aim to have both of these items. Not every wine will be worth the season-long process time in a keg, however, but several wines can turn an unbelievable profit. For example, Ancient Fruit Wine that has been aged in a keg until iridium quality will sell for 4,620g. This is an incredible sell price, and you should definitely turn your ancient fruits into wine.

It's important to know that favoring either one of these pieces of equipment is fine. There is no 'wrong' way to run your farm. Overall, you should just remember that kegs bring in money over a long period of time, while preserves jars will bring in money over a shorter period of time.

Next: Stardew Valley: Tips For Your Farm Layout