Preserves Jar
| Preserves Jar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Crafted Item |
| Recipe | Farming (Level 4) |
The Preserves Jar is the first big artisan machine most farms build. Fruit placed inside turns into Jelly, while vegetables, mushrooms and many foraged greens become Pickles. Fish roe goes in too, and the jar is the only machine that ages it into Aged Roe or, from a sturgeon, into Caviar. The recipe arrives early in the Farming skill and needs nothing but basic materials, so a row of jars can be running within the first season. It stays useful all game, because cheap crops and fish ponds earn more through a jar than through a Keg.
The in-game description reads: Turns vegetables into pickles and fruit into jam.
Recipe
Reaching Farming level 4 teaches the recipe. Each jar takes Wood, Stone and a little Coal, all of which turn up early. Wood comes from chopping trees, Stone from breaking rocks, and Coal from rocks and Dust Sprites in the Mines.
The Community Center also gives a free jar. Completing the Quality Crops Bundle in the Pantry earns one, and the remixed Rare Crops Bundle does the same. The Prize Machine in the Mayor's Manor can also pay out a set of four.
These are the ingredients one batch needs.
| Name | Image | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | 
|
50 |
| Stone | 
|
40 |
| Coal | 
|
8 |
Use
Holding the ingredient and using it on the jar starts the job. Jelly and Pickles are ready after two or three days, depending on when the jar was filled. Caviar takes about four days.
Jelly and Pickles follow one simple rule. The jar doubles the base value of the ingredient and then adds a flat fifty gold. Quality is ignored, so a gold-star Blueberry makes the same Jelly as a plain one. Using the lowest-quality produce and selling the best raw gets the most from each harvest.
Pickles cover a wide range of ingredients. Any vegetable works. Mushrooms and other foraged items with positive energy work too, such as Chanterelles, Leeks and Winter Root. The Red Mushroom is one of the few that is turned away, because eating it costs energy. Kegs refuse mushrooms entirely, which leaves the jar as the main way to raise their value.
Roe from a Fish Pond goes into the jar as well. Ordinary roe becomes Aged Roe, which is worth a good deal more than the fresh eggs. Sturgeon Roe becomes Caviar, a fixed-price luxury worth far more than most Aged Roe.
Notes
The flat bonus is what makes the jar shine with cheap crops. A crop worth only a few gold gains the same fifty gold as an expensive one, which is a big share of its value. Fruit with a low base value, such as Blackberries and Salmonberries, earns more as Jelly than as Wine. Most vegetables also earn more as Pickles than as Juice. Very valuable fruit like Starfruit or Ancient Fruit is better off in a Keg.
Speed matters as much as price. A jar finishes in a couple of days, while Wine takes nearly a week. A farm with only a few machines often makes more gold per day from jars, even with fruit that would sell higher as Wine. Kegs unlock four Farming levels later, so the jar also fills the gap until then.
The Artisan profession at Farming level 10 adds two fifths to the sale price of everything from the jar. Jars can also stand off the farm. The Quarry and Ginger Island both have room for long rows of artisan machines, which keeps the main fields clear. A farm with a few Fish Ponds benefits from a small group of jars placed beside them, so each morning's roe goes straight in.
All Crafting
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
