Stardew Valley: Preserves Jar Vs Kegs

Stardew Valley is all about growing crops and making a living off the land — but there’s more that players can do with their fruit and vegetables than sell them as-is. As players advance their Farming skill, they will unlock crafting recipes for items that will let them can, preserve, and ferment their produce into highly valuable artisan goods.

Two such items that Stardew Valley players tend to craft in huge numbers are Kegs
and Preserves Jars
. Both of these can be used to turn crops — particularly fruits and vegetables — into Artisan Goods that multiply their value spectacularly, potentially earning the player massive profits. But is one better than the other? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? Here’s how Kegs and Preserves Jars stack up against each other when compared head-to-head.

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Updated January 8, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: The 1.6 update brought plenty of changes to Stardew Valley, including plenty of small tweaks and balancing changes. One of these involved expanding the items that players can place in Kegs and Preserves Jars. Several forage items, like Leeks, Spring Onions, Hazelnuts, Winter Roots, and more, can now be used to create Juice or Pickles. This guide has been updated to reflect any additional information that players will find helpful as they seek to make artisan goods on their farm.

Basics of Kegs and Preserves Jars

Both Preserves Jars and Kegs are useful to have on a player’s farm, as they can both be used to turn produce and other items into valuable artisan goods. This is especially profitable if players have the Artisan profession, which increases the sell price of these goods by 40%.

It is important to note that the quality of the item placed in a Preserves Jar or a Keg does not affect the quality or sell price of the artisan product. A Jelly made from a gold-quality fruit, for example, will sell for the same price as one made from a normal-quality fruit. Thus, it is recommended that players use their lowest-quality items to make Artisan products in their Preserves Jars and Kegs.

Preserves Jars

Preserves Jars are used to produce canned products: Jelly
, Pickles
, Aged Roe
, and Caviar
. Players can obtain Preserves Jars as rewards from the Quality Crops or Rare Crops bundles at the community center, or as prizes from the Prize Machine. The crafting recipe for Preserves Jars is received at Farming Level 4 and requires:

The following items can be crafted with a Preserves Jar:

Kegs

Kegs, meanwhile, are used to produce beverages. Some are alcoholic, such as Wine
, Beer
, and Pale Ale
; however, Coffee
, Juice
, Green Tea
, and Vinegar
are also produced in Kegs.

The farmer can obtain Kegs as rewards for completing the Artisan Bundle or Brewer’s Bundle. They may also appear as prizes in the Prize Machine. To craft their own, players will learn the recipe at Farming Level 8:

2:34

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Kegs or Preserves Jars: Which Is Better?

Pros & Cons of Kegs

As players can see in the tables above, goods produced in Kegs generally result in greater profits than those produced in Preserves Jars. Wine, for example, is the much more profitable choice for fruit. It is also worth noting that the alcoholic beverages made in Kegs (Wine, Beer, Pale Ale, and Mead) can be placed in a Cask
to age them, increasing their quality and thus their sell price. An Iridium-quality artisan product will sell for double the price of a normal-quality one.

However, while Kegs produce much higher-value products, they are also more expensive to craft. Crafting Kegs en masse requires first forging many metal bars, crafting several Tappers, and waiting for them to yield Oak Resin. Additionally, if players plan to age their Keg products in Casks, they must purchase their home’s final upgrade for 100,000g (and potentially craft additional Casks from wood and hardwood). Kegs also take much longer than Preserves Jars to reach their end product — and that’s not considering any aging time.

For seasoned Stardew Valley players, the undertaking of crafting Kegs may well be enjoyable, and potentially not even difficult. However, Preserves Jars also have their advantages, and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Pros & Cons of Preserves Jars

Because they require only basic materials, Preserves Jars are cheap and easy to craft. They can help farmers earn plenty of money in the early years on their farm, especially before learning the crafting recipe for Kegs. Many players do tend to phase out their Preserves Jars once they have crafted a fair number Kegs, due to the lower sell values of Jellies and Pickles.

However, it’s worth keeping some around. Preserves Jars take much less time than Kegs to yield their product. This quicker turnaround means that they can be just as profitable, especially for low-value, high-yield crops like Blueberry
. Generally, if a fruit’s base price is 50g or less, it is more profitable to put in the Preserves Jar because of its lower processing time. The same is true for vegetables with a base price of 200g or less.

It’s also worth noting that some items that cannot be placed in Kegs can be placed in Preserves Jars, and vice versa. For example, players can choose to place their fruit harvest in either a Keg or a Preserves Jar. However, only a Preserves Jar can increase the value of Roe, and only a Keg can make an artisan product out of Honey. With this in mind, having both Preserves Jars and Kegs on one’s farm is essential for players who focus on growing crops and making artisan goods.