Players in Stardew Valley aim to live off the land — but not just by growing crops and raising animals. There are plenty of ways that players can use the tools at their disposal to create artisanal products, and one that sometimes gets overlooked is 
Honey
.
Yet, honey in Stardew Valley is easy to cultivate, and can quickly become extremely profitable. Players can simply build a few bee houses and leave them outside — or, if they wish to create a honey empire, they can take things to the next level.
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Stardew Valley: The Most Profitable Artisan Goods
Artisan goods are among the most profitable items in Stardew Valley, but focusing on these particular ones will make the player especially rich.
Updated January 9, 2025, by Demaris Oxman: Honey is an unsung hero in Stardew Valley. It can be a valuable artisan product, and gives players a good reason to grow flowers to beautify their farms. Whether players are seeking to build a honey farm as a queen bee, or simply looking to get the most out of a few Bee Houses, here’s everything they need to know, updated with all the latest additions and fixes from version 1.6.
Building A Bee House
Just like in real life, Honey in Stardew Valley is produced by bees. To cultivate Honey, players will need a 
Bee House
for the busy little insects to do their work. The Bee House crafting recipe becomes available at Farming Level 3. Players will need the following materials for one Bee House:
Players can also receive a Bee House as a reward for completing the Fall Crops Bundle at the Community Center, or as a possible prize from the mayor’s Prize Counter.
Once crafted, place the Bee House anywhere outside — on the farm, in the forest, at the quarry. No matter where it is placed, the Bee House will produce honey every 3–4 days during every season except for Winter. On Ginger Island, they will produce year-round. Players can choose to move the Bee House by striking it with the axe or pickaxe; if there is Honey ready for harvesting, it will drop, and will be of the same type as nearby flowers if applicable.
Although they can be placed in the Greenhouse, Bee Houses will not produce honey there.
Flowers & Honey Types
If there are no flowers within five tiles of the bee house, it will produce Wild Honey, which is worth 100g (140g with the Artisan profession). However, planting flowers within its vicinity will change the type of honey and raise its value. This includes flowers planted in a 
Garden Pot
.
Since Honey is considered an Artisan Good, it is affected by the Artisan profession. If the player chooses this profession at Farming Level 10, all Artisan Goods increase in value by 40%. Both the regular and increased prices are shown below:
To get a specific flower’s honey, make sure not to harvest the flower before collecting the honey from the Bee House. If the flower is harvested, the honey will revert to Wild Honey. Conversely, if the Bee House produces honey, players can choose to wait until nearby flowers have bloomed in order to get that flower’s honey type.
Flowers grown from Wild Seeds, such as Sweet Peas or Daffodils, do not alter the type of honey; Bee Houses near these flowers will produce Wild Honey.
What Honey Is Used For
Though the more valuable Honey types are best to simply sell as they are, players can use Wild Honey or other less expensive varieties to craft other items, or give as gifts.
Mead
After harvesting, Honey can be placed in a 
Keg
to make 
Mead
. At its base quality, Mead sells for 200g, and it benefits from the Artisan profession described above. Players can age it in a 
Cask
to increase its quality and therefore its value:
- Normal: 200g (280g)
- Silver: 250g (350g)
- Gold: 300g (420g)
- Iridium: 400g (560g)
Note that the type of Honey used to make Mead has no impact on the quality or sell price of the product; thus, using Wild Honey (the cheapest variety) to make Mead leads to the greatest profit.
Crafting & Bundles
Though no Cooking recipes involve Honey, players can use it along with 1 
Hardwood
and 20 
Fiber
to craft a 
Warp Totem: Farm
(available at Farming Level 8). The player can use this anytime, anywhere, to immediately teleport themselves back to the farmhouse.
In the Community Center, Honey is one of the options that the player can use to complete the Artisan Bundle in the Pantry. It may also appear in several Fish Pond quests.
Gifting
Like many artisan goods, honey is among the best choices to gift to other villagers to win their friendship. All villagers except for Maru and Sebastian count Honey among their Liked gifts. Since it’s easy to come by, Wild Honey is a great item to stockpile when trying to woo friends (or potential lovers).
Honey’s alcoholic evolution, Mead, is also a great gifting choice, especially for Pam and Willy. Most other villagers like it as well, but avoid giving this gift to Penny, Sebastian, or (obviously) any children.
