Worst Gifts in Stardew Valley

Summary

Stardew Valley players can befriend residents for benefits like recipes and quests, but they should think twice before gifting specific items to certain villagers.
Poppy is a no-go for most villagers except for Penny.
Bug Steak is useful early on but not appreciated as a gift, and Oil of Garlic is too valuable to gift to anyone.

Learning to befriend the residents of Stardew Valley is an essential skill for Farmers looking to make it on their new homestead, as developments in Friendship Points unlock recipes, quests, and special cutscenes. In order to give gamers a nudge in the right direction, all items in the game are divided up into Loved, Liked, Neutral, Disliked, or Hated Gifts.

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So, while a Loved Gift will earn the Farmer +80 Friendship Points on a normal day (and up to +640 on the NPC's birthday), a Hated Gift will knock down the Friendship meter anywhere between -40 and -320. Here are some of the worst of the worst gifts in Stardew Valley - gifts that not only make the receiver feel bad but also make the player wish they'd never bothered in the first place.

7 Poppy

A Largely Disliked Flower

A screenshot of poppies growing in Stardew Valley.

Source	Summer Crop (7 Days)
Use	Bundles, Recipes
Sell Price	140g

One of Stardew Valley's notoriously hard to profit from flower varieties, Poppy is widely used for flavoring honey, creating pretty farm designs, and fulfilling Community Center Bundles. One thing it very much isn't used for is gifting to other villagers, as it falls under the Universally Hated gift category.

One important exception to this is that Marriage Candidate Penny absolutely adores Poppy, with the colorful flower making it to the top of her list of Loved Gifts. While it's inadvisable to risk giving it to anyone else, future Penny spouses will be hoarding seeds to satisfy their partner via the Greenhouse year-round.

6 Strange Bun

Cooked But Not Craved

A screenshot of the menu collection in Stardew Valley highlighting the Strange Bun

Source	Cooking, Mine Drop
Use	Edible, Trade
Sell Price	225g

There are only a few cooked food items that make the list of Universally Hated gifts, and Strange Bun is perhaps the most galling. This is due to its usefulness in other situations, such as providing a valuable source of Health when dropped by Shadow Brutes during a Mine dive.

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There are a couple of important exceptions to the dish's Hated status, with Krobus receiving it with a semi-positive Like and Shane remaining Neutral on the subject, but neither is positive enough to waste the otherwise valuable Bun on a few measly Friendship points. It can also be offered at the Witch's Hut for players who want to introduce some additional danger to their peaceful Farm.

5 Seaweed

A Universally Disliked Weed

A screenshot of the contents of a fridge in Stardew Valley which highlighting Seaweed

Source	Fishing, Foraging
Use	Edible, Recipes, Buildings
Sell Price	20g

A vital source of early Foraging XP that also provides a minimal source of Health and Energy when those are in short supply during the early-game, Seaweed is Disliked by several villagers when presented as a gift (Leah, Marnie, Sam, and Shane). Unfortunately, everyone else hates it.

The worst part about accidentally gifting Seaweed is that it's far more useful to hoard as a resource. Building a Fish Pond costs 5x Seaweed a time, it can be cooked into Maki Roll, and it is a fairly frequent request on the Help Wanted board at Pierre's. Players are better off piling up the green weed in their resource chest from the word go, rather than giving it away.

4 Sugar

Not Sweet Enough To Be Gifted

A screenshot of Stardew Valley showing the items available at Pierre's General Store and highlighting Sugar

Source	Mill, Pierre's, JojaMart
Use	Recipes
Sell Price	50g

An essential component to numerous cooked dishes and a profitable processed good, Sugar makes it onto the list because it feels like it shouldn't be a Universally Hated gift. Farmers who have put the time and resources into building a Mill can make a tidy profit from processing their Beet crop into the white stuff, which they can either sell on or use in their own Kitchen.

Only Abigail seems to have something of a sweet tooth in the sleepy little town, and even then, her tolerance only stretches to Dislike. This is one of the game's foibles that keeps Stardew fans coming back time and again to look for more Easter eggs, as it feels like a personal joke from creator ConcernedApe.

3 Bug Steak

Useful During The Early-Game But Not A Good Gift

A screenshot of Stardew Valley showing the menu at a crafting bench and highlighting Bug Steak

Source	Crafting
Use	Edible
Sell Price	50g

Bug Steak takes one of the worst spots on the list of Stardew Valley gifts, partly due to the fact it can be extremely useful early on in the game. One of the first edible recipes earned at Combat Level 1, it's a vital source of energy for novice players when making their first tentative forays into the dark depths of the Mines.

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Its utility to the Farmer is one of the aspects that can trick first-time players into thinking it might be a decent villager gift - everyone likes a free lunch, right? The highly grumpy reception feels more galling as a result, with the Valley residents refusing to put on a polite face upon receiving this wad of guts.

2 Oil Of Garlic

A Slightly Too Pungent Present

A screenshot of the Dwarf's Shop in Stardew Valley highlighting Oil of Garlic

Source	Crafting
Use	Edible
Sell Price	1000g

Oil of Garlic is particularly useful for players looking to make major Mine runs, as its special buff either prevents Monsters from spawning altogether or (in the more challenging Skull Cavern) stops swarms of Monsters on any floor. It's also pretty expensive to craft, costing 10x Garlic and 10x Oil.

This is why its status as a Universally Hated gift is very upsetting to even the most jaded Stardew player. It's simply too useful and valuable to be given away for nothing. Oil of Garlic also has a special status as a universally profitable item. Even when crafted with the lowest quality ingredients, it will still turn a profit, making it extra annoying to be penalized after handing it over.

1 All Warp Totems

Prevents Friendships From Going Anywhere Fast

A screenshot of Stardew Valley showing the beach and the collection of Warp Totems

Source	Crafting, Various
Use	Speed Travel
Sell Price	20g

The worst gift in the entirety of Stardew Valley comes down to three things: Universal Hatred, practicality throughout the game, and the price of construction. Unless players can afford to put tons of time and resources into the Wizard's various Warp Towers and Obelisks, then Totems are likely their fastest route to the Beach, Farm, Mountains, Desert, and Island.

Therefore, giving one to a villager by mistake is galling enough, but realizing the Friendship level gets a forty point penalty for the fumble really adds insult to injury. It's enough to have nervous Farmers running around Naruto-style with their hands out of their pockets, just to avoid the possibility of an accidental gift changing hands.

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