Cultivate Sweetness: How to Master Honey Production in Stardew Valley

This Stardew Valley guide focuses on honey production, a profitable yet often overlooked artisan good. This guide is updated for version 1.6.

Bee House Construction:

Honey is produced by bees housed in Bee Houses. The recipe unlocks at Farming Level 3, requiring:

• 40 Wood
• 8 Coal
• 1 Iron Bar
• 1 Maple Syrup

Bee Houses can also be obtained from the Fall Crops Bundle (Community Center) or the Mayor's Prize Counter. Place Bee Houses outdoors (not in the Greenhouse); they produce honey every 3-4 days (except winter, year-round on Ginger Island). Harvesting honey with an axe or pickaxe drops the honey.

Honey Types and Flower Proximity:

Honey type and value depend on nearby flowers (within five tiles, including Garden Pots). No flowers result in Wild Honey (100g, 140g with Artisan profession).

Harvesting flowers before honey collection reverts the honey to Wild Honey. Wild Seeds don't affect honey type. The Artisan profession (Farming Level 10) increases artisan good value by 40%.

Honey Uses:

• Selling: Higher-value honeys are best sold directly.
• Mead: Use honey in a Keg to produce Mead. Aging in a Cask improves quality and value:
  • Normal: 200g (280g)
  • Silver: 250g (350g)
  • Gold: 300g (420g)
  • Iridium: 400g (560g) Honey type doesn't affect Mead value; use Wild Honey for maximum profit.
• Crafting: Combine honey, Hardwood, and Fiber to craft a Warp Totem: Farm (Farming Level 8).
• Gifting: Honey is a liked gift for most villagers (except Maru and Sebastian). Mead is also popular but avoid giving it to children, Penny, or Sebastian.