Crafting caviar in Stardew Valley requires a few more steps than it seems. Creating this craftable item requires a specific type of fish and a glass jar. Like other craftable items in Stardew Valley, caviar is worth more than the product it is made from, and it also has other uses, such as being a popular gift. Caviar is also used for the Movie Pack, which is unlocked after completing one of the main storylines.
How to make caviar
Caviar is made by putting sturgeon eggs in a canning jar. While you can age any fish roe you get in a mason jar, only sturgeon roe will turn into caviar. There are two ways to get sturgeon roe, only one of which will produce it consistently.
The first method is to place a sturgeon in a fish pond, where it will produce sturgeon eggs on a semi-regular basis. To build a fishing pond, you need to bring 200 stones, 5 seaweed, 5 green algae, and 5,000 G to the carpenter, who will spend three days building the fish pond. After that, you need to catch a sturgeon, which is only available in summer and winter. Place the sturgeon in the pond.
The pond will initially only have one sturgeon and in order to breed you will need to complete quests for the fish pond by bringing the requested items. The more sturgeon there are in the pond, the higher the chance of producing eggs each day.
Quests appear every few days once the maximum number of fish is present.
The quests are:
- 1 sturgeon – 1 diamond
- 3 sturgeons – 1 jelly or 1 pickle or 2 maple syrup
- 5 sturgeons – 3 omnigeodes
- 7 sturgeons – 1 nautilus shell
Other Stardew Valley guides:
If you get a treasure chest from catching a sturgeon, there is a chance it will contain sturgeon eggs, but this requires you to get lucky with a treasure chest from catching a sturgeon and there is only a chance it will contain eggs.
Place your sturgeon eggs in a preserving jar. Preserving jars can be crafted at level 4 farming (50 wood, 40 stone, and 8 coal). It takes just over four in-game days for sturgeon eggs to be processed into caviar.