As a long-time Stardew Valley enthusiast with over 200 hours played, I‘ve carefully perfected my truffle oil empire to maximize profits. This lucrative elixir is worth its weight in gold — but only if you know how to take advantage of it.
Let me show you the secrets that took my earnings to the next level.
An Introduction to Truffle Oil
Truffle oil sells for a staggering 1,491g per bottle, making it one of the most valuable items in Stardew Valley.
For perspective, that‘s over 7 times more than a basic quality Ancient Fruit Wine! When aged in casks, the price can exceed 2,200g per bottle.
Beyond pure earnings, truffle oil has several key uses:
- Completing Mayor Lewis‘ special order for 30,000g
- Crafting oil-based cooking recipes like salad and pasta
- Gifting to earn hearts with certain villagers
- Retaining value over multiple seasons when cask aged
Unfortunately, truffle oil can NOT be used in bundles or requests. And it does not continue producing like Ancient Fruit or Starfruit crops.
But when crafted correctly, this artisanal delight can bring in reliable income year-round. Over 1-2 years, small truffle oil operations can earn 100k-300k gold or more!
Let‘s discover exactly how it‘s made.
Step 1: Setup Pigs for Truffle Foraging
Truffle oil starts by gathering truffles from foraging pigs. Each full-grown pig has a chance to find truffles each morning if:
- The pig is fully mature (purchased from Marnie then aged 14+ days)
- Barn doors are opened so pigs can exit
- The current season is Spring, Summer, or Fall
The pig hunts in grassy areas of the farm and will return to sleep in its barn at night.
You simply need to check the farm each morning and pick up any truffles. Easy!
But ALL pigs have an hidden stat called "daily truffle chance" based on friendship. Higher friendships give better odds and more frequent truffles.
As you‘re setting up, keep pigs happy by:
- Petting, letting outside, and closing doors at night
- Feeding low-cost foods like vegetables
- Using heaters in barns during winter
- Avoiding crowding 2+ pigs per space
Now, let‘s explore 2 methods for maximizing TRUFFLES:
Option 1) More Barns + More Pigs
Construct multiple deluxe barns for ~16 pigs each. For example:
| Barn Type | Pigs Housed |
|---|---|
| Deluxe Barn 1 | 16 Pigs |
| Deluxe Barn 2 | 16 Pigs |
| Total Pigs | 32 Pigs |
Pros:
- Max possible pigs and truffle chances.
- Can sustain 30-50+ truffles per day
Cons:
- Very expensive to build multiple barns
- Need large farm space and land clearing
- More micromanaging pig care/mood
Option 2) Less Barns + Happier Pigs
Rather than maxing space, focus on higher happiness levels in just 1-2 barns:
| Barn Type | Pigs Housed | Perks Added |
|---|---|---|
| Deluxe Barn 1 | 12 Pigs | Heater, Best Food |
| Deluxe Barn 2 | 12 Pigs | Heater, Best Food |
| Total Pigs | 24 Pigs | HAPPIER Pigs |
Pros:
- Still large pig count for 18-25 truffles per day
- Easier to keep ALL pigs extremely happy
- Saves money over multiple barns
Cons:
- Less max possible truffles per day
I prefer option 2 in my personal save. While a few extra truffles seems good, I found the bonus happiness more than made up for it with 2 barns max. Happy pigs = happy profits!
But either approach works very well. The key is giving pigs food, love, and space to find gold.
Step 2: Crafting Truffle Oil Efficiently
Once truffles start piling up, it‘s time to begin crafting!
Converting truffles requires an oil maker like other artisan goods. Each oil maker takes 6 hours to process 1 truffle into 1 truffle oil.
To save time, place multiple oil makers together in sheds near truffle spawning locations. I keep 5 makers going at all times for efficiency.
Here‘s the breakdown of input costs:
| Oil Maker Materials | Gold Cost |
|---|---|
| 50 Slimes | Free from mines |
| 20 Hardwood | Free from farm |
| 1 Gold Bar | 400g (1 ore) |
| Total Per Maker | 400g |
Compared to 1,491g earned back per oil, that 400g investment is tiny!
Even a small shed with 5 makers quickly pays itself off. Then it‘s all profit as the truffle empire grows.
A key tip is having a few extra preserve jars for offloading excess truffles. Oil makers have limited capacity, so preserves let you save extras for next day.
Between load-balancing makers, preserves, and steady pig harvests, I‘m able to process 100% of truffles into oil every few days. No waste in this farm!
Step 3: Increase Earnings Through Casks
The base price for standard quality truffle oil is already lucrative at 1,491g. But we can optimize this further with cask aging.
Placing truffle oil in a cask for several seasons increases the quality. For example:
| Truffle Oil Quality | Sell Price to Pierre |
|---|---|
| Standard | 1,491g |
| Silver Star | 1,864g (+25%) |
| Gold Star | 2,236g (+50%) |
| Iridium Star | 2,736g (+83%) |
As you can see, iridium truffle oil sells for nearly double!
To leverage this:
- Build enough casks during winter (10-25 is a good start)
- Age your first spring/summer batch for 2-3 seasons
- Sell the now-iridium oil for huge winter profits!
The only catch is having patience as the casks slowly increase value over time. But the payout is gigantic if you plan correctly.
Evaluating Your Truffle Oil Earning Potential
Let‘s run some numbers to demonstrate the profit potential with various setups:
| Setup Size | Pigs | Daily Truffle Avg | Yearly Truffle Oil (No Casks) | Yearly Truffle Oil (With Casks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 4 Pigs | 4 Truffles | 365 Oils (542k Gold) | 730 Oils (1.5 Million Gold) |
| Medium | 16 Pigs | 18 Truffles | 1,642 Oils (2.4 Million Gold) | 3,284 Oils (7.3 Million Gold) |
| Large | 32 Pigs | 38 Truffles | 3,570 Oils (5.3 Million Gold) | 7,140 Oils (16 Million Gold) |
Assuming the averages:
- Small setup still brings 500k+ gold
- Medium setup exceeds 2 million gold
- Large setup brings up to 16 million gold!
Keep in mind even small operations can do better by heavily investing in pig happiness for increased truffle odds.
But conservatively, you‘ll earn back investing costs after the very first oil batch or two. After that, it‘s unlimited expansion and soaring revenue!
My Personal Truffle Oil Strategy
On my own long-running 1.5 farm, I‘ve dialed truffle production to a science. Here is my setup and yearly process:
Facilities:
- 2 Deluxe Barns housing 24 happy pigs
- Shed with 8 oil makers
- 40 casks aging previous seasons‘ oil
Spring:
- Pigs forage 20-30 truffles per day
- I process truffles into oil daily
- Excess truffles get preserved or sold
Summer:
- Continue putting oil in casks to age
- Start selling standard/silver quality oil
- Stockpile some gold oil casks for winter
Fall:
- Same truffle harvesting and oil production
- Move last batch into aging casks
- Sell tons of previous iridium oil reserve
Winter:
- Build more sheds, makers, casks as needed
- Shop at Traveling Cart for truffles if stock is low
- Forage, fish, and mine while money rolls in
With this cycle, my farm earns an average of 15 million gold yearly from truffle oil and aged reserves. It supplies over 80% of my income!
While your strategy will differ, remember: happy pigs and patience lead to pure profit. Let your earnings compound, then invest back into expansion.
Before you know it, YOU‘LL be the secret millionaire of Stardew Valley!
Wrapping Up
I hope my deep knowledge and passion has convinced you to build your own truffle empire. Raising adorable piggies and crafting expensive oil is deeply satisfying.
To quickly summarize:
- Ensure pigs are fully mature and very happy
- Give them space to forage for truffles
- Use multiple oil makers to process truffles all day long
- Age batches in casks over seasons for lucrative quality increases
- Continually expand pigs, makers, casks to drive up earnings
You now have ALL the tools needed for truffle success. Let me know if you have any other questions in the comments below!
And if you found this guide helpful, be sure to check out my other Stardew tutorials. Now go make some serious gold, farmer!
