Have you heard the tale of Old Master Cannoli? Perhaps you’ve seen their statue in the Secret Woods. Keep reading to learn how you can appease Old Master Cannoli and get his prize!
Who Is Old Master Cannoli? Where are They?
Who Master Cannoli once was, we cannot say, but a statue of this legendary figure can be found in the tranquil Secret Forest.
How do I get to the Secret Forest?
If you haven’t unlocked the Secret Forest yet, you’ll need to do that before you can commune with the statue. The entrance to the Forest is in the top left corner of the Cindersap Forest, which is just South of your farm.
In order to access the Secret Forest, you must first chop down a Large Log that’s blocking the way in. If you’ve only got a basic or Copper Pickaxe, you’ll need to get an upgrade before you can pass. You need a Steel Axe or better to break down this log.
What do you Give to the Statue?
… Still searching for the sweetest taste…
You might be here to find out what it is that Old Master Cannoli is looking for exactly. The statue requests that you bring it the sweetest taste of all – a single Sweet Gem Berry.
If you’ve never heard of one before, don’t worry, these are quite rare and you won’t be able to find the seeds for this crop at Pierre’s General Store or even at Jojamart. Instead, you need to find and purchase the Rare Seed.
How to Get a Rare Seed
As previously mentioned, neither Sweet Gem Berries nor the seeds cannot be purchased anywhere. Instead, you’ll need to grow one yourself by first acquiring a Rare Seed.
Rare Seeds can only be purchased at one single location – the Travelling Cart. You can find the Travelling Cart in the upper-Western side of the Cindersap Forest, along the way to the Secret Forest. However, it’ll only be around on Fridays and Sundays, and only until 08:00 pm.
You can also find the Travelling Cart at the Night Market festival, held annually on the 15th, 16th, and 17th day of Winter.
The Travelling Cart sells a large assortment of miscellaneous items. Usually, the items are quite expensive and totally random. Sometimes, however, you can get a pretty good deal. It’s always worth the short trip to check out what’s in store.
Luckily for us, the Rare Seed is actually guaranteed to be in stock at the Travelling Cart during Spring and Summer. It will cost you 1000g to grab when it appears during these Seasons. Usually, there’s only one in stock at any given time but 10% of the time the Merchant will sell a set of five instead.
After Spring and Summer, your odds of finding the Rare Seed diminish greatly. There’s only a 1.26% chance that the merchant will carry a Rare Seed during these cold Seasons. Moreover, if you don’t buy it before Summer, you’ll have to wait a whole year to cultivate it since the plant only grows in Fall.
Is there another Way to Get a Rare Seed?
There is technically one other way of getting a Rare Seed packet, but it requires that you already have one Sweet Gem Berry first.
This method requires that you have the Seed Maker refining equipment. The Seed Maker is unlocked at level nine of the Farming skill and crafted from 25 units of wood, a gold bar, and ten pieces of Coal. When you place a crop into the Seed Maker, about 97% of the time, you’ll receive 1-3 seeds of the same type of crop. Nearly 2% of the time, you’ll get Mixed Seeds instead. There’s also a slim, 0.5%, chance you’ll receive a single packet of Ancient Seeds.
So, if you’ve got a single Sweet Gem Berry all ready, you can give it to statue or… you can put it in the Seed Maker. One Gem Berry can create up to three seeds, which will eventually create three new Sweet Gem Berries. This way you’ll have extra Berries that you can sell. Basic quality Sweet Gem Berries are worth a whopping 3000g, and Iridium Quality berries are worth 6000g.
Cultivating the Sweet Gem Berry
Sweet Gem Berries are unique crops in many ways. They require nearly a full Season to grow – 24 days. The Sweet Gem Berry, despite its name, isn’t considered a Fruit or Vegetable. Therefore, you can’t make Jelly, Pickles, or Wine out of Sweet Gem Berries. Its value does not change if you’ve got the Tiller profession, even though the profession affects all other crops.
Ancient Seeds can be planted outside during the Fall and they’ll take a bit over three weeks to grow. You can apply Speed-Gro fertilizer to expedite the process slightly.
Another option you have is to grow the Rare Seed indoors. For this, you require a Garden Pot. To obtain the crafting recipe for this item, you’ll need to first complete the Pantry Bundle in the Community Center and unlock the Greenhouse. Once it’s unlocked, all you need is one piece of Clay, ten Stone, and one Refined Quartz.
What else is a Sweet Gem Berry Used for?
- Selling – The Sweet Gem Berry is worth quite a bit of Coin at Pierre’s or Joja Mart. Depending on its quality, a berry can be sold for 3000g, 3750g, 4500g, or 6000g. Sadly, the price cannot be upped further by crafting berries into artisan goods.
⠀ - Gifting – Though it is a very valuable crop, it doesn’t make for a good gift. Every character in the game feels neutral towards Sweet Gem Berries. Moreover, Rare Seeds are disliked by all villagers.
⠀ - Collecting – The Sweet Gem Berry may be necessary to complete the Rare Crops Bundle, if you’re playing with a Remixed version of the Community Center.
⠀ - Tailoring and Dyeing – Like most items in Stardew, you can use the Sweet Gem Berry to create or dye clothing. Combined with Cloth, the Gem Berry will create a Turban that looks quite similar to the Desert Trader’s one. This one will be white, and non-dyeable.
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You can use Sweet Gem Berries to dye dyeable clothes. These berries produce a very faint red hue, and it’s not recommended to spend such a valuable item on dyeing. You can use a Cherry Bomb to get the same shade of red.
What is your Reward?
If you’ve decided to sate Old Master Cannoli’s hunger after all, head on over back to the Secret Woods with a Sweet Gem Berry in hand.
Giving the berry over to Old Master Cannoli causes the statue’s eyes to glow red. Interact with the statue one last time to receive your reward… a Stardrop!
Is Old Master Cannoli’s Reward Worth it?
There are only seven obtainable Stardrops in the whole game. Each item permanently increases the player’s energy by 34. If you collect every single Stardrop, you’ll have almost double the amount of Energy you started the game with.
Though it can be expensive at the start of the game, and though it takes a long time for the Sweet Gem Berry to grow, you should never miss the opportunity to grab this super rare treat!
Quick Break-Down of All the Steps
- Acquire a Steel Axe, and chop down the Large Log that prevents you from entering the Secret Forest, which is in the top left corner of the Cindersap Forest.
⠀ - Speak with the statue of Old Master Cannoli.
⠀ - During Spring or Summer, purchase a Rare Seed from the Travelling Cart for 1000g. The cart will be in the Cindersap Forest every Friday and Sunday until 08:00 pm.
⠀ - On the first day of Fall, plant the Rare Seed and wait 24 days for it to grow into a Sweet Gem Berry.
⠀ - Bring the Sweet Gem Berry back to Old Master Cannoli, and enjoy your reward!
