Here at Discovering Kelowna we love and support everything local! So let’s talk about one of the many farmers markets that can be found here in the lovely Okanagan. The market I’ll be commenting on is the Kelowna Farmers Market. This market is open every Saturday during the winter at the Parkinson Rec Center, and every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday either downtown or on Springfield during the summer. I’ll tell you all about the vendors we visited and what we thought was awesome about them. Something to note is the winter market has fewer vendors on site BUT my absolute favorite Chinese food stand is always there! Parking is free and abundant, and it’s strongly recommended to get there early to enjoy first picks.
*During this particular visit, we went during the Winter market so I promise to update this post as soon as we visit the summer market.
The Winter Market
Okee dokee, let’s dive into the experience! When we first walked in we were welcomed by the Farmers Market staff and offered a mask. As soon as you walk into the market, there are FREE food samples. With absolutely no purchase necessary and no guilty feeling of trying and not buying. I know we all feel that way to some extent right? But that’s ok! That’s how some of us find our new favorite sweets or can’t live without items! By now I’ve just happily accepted that it’s just part of the market experience. I would also like to mention that we did not follow the recommendation of getting there early so we missed out on certain goodies. Did we still leave with tons? Absolutely.
JC Honey
As we started walking around we were offered a sample of organic honey straight from a local farm. We had been talking about the differences in honey earlier, and how you could really taste the difference between the honey you get at the grocery store, the organic honey you get at the grocery store, and then the organic honey you get from the farm. Let me tell you, this sample confirmed our suspicions. Honey from the farm is FAR better than any honey from a grocery store. I’m not sure what kind of sorcery they perform, but believe me when I say it just tastes better. So thank you to JC Honey for ending the great honey debate for us. You should also know that there were plenty of honey farmers out at the market, each offering something a little different. Flavored honey more your thing? There’s a vendor for that 😉
Flavors Kitchen
Next we visited Flavors Kitchen and were treated to a sample of their gourmet perogies. We tried the spicy garlic pickle havarti… and immediately bought a bag. To sum it up, it was like a charcuterie board exploding in your mouth. We also purchased their jalapeño mac n’ cheese and to our surprise there were actual mac and cheese inside. Not just flavored mashed potatoes. These guys specialize in packing so much flavor in such a small package! They make over 20 different flavors with a ton of vegan options. I have tried them on other occasions, and can honestly say you wouldn’t even know they’re vegan. They’re that good! Don’t tell your meat eating friends, just amaze them with some stellar perogies.
Haskap Farms
Something I didn’t know, is that you can pick up haskap berries all year round! Every summer I’ve been gifted a box from my mother… but truth be told, I’ve never actually dived into the box to try them. Don’t judge me, I can’t be the only one who leaves things in their freezer to live out the rest of its days. Anyways, now I’m kicking myself for not trying them sooner because they taste like you hit the blueberry jackpot. You know when the blueberry is sweet and not dangerously sour? Not to mention they’re double the size? Jackpot. Haskap Farms have upped our smoothie game to a whole new healthy level. They also make delicious drinks and jellies that we’re going to have to try next time.
Sweet Bees
Lastly, we stopped at Sweet Bees. The lovely Belinda had started telling us about these amazing Oreo stuffed cookies she had baked, and our mouths instantly started drooling. We picked out the bag with the biggest cookies in them and can’t wait to go get some more. I hear that Nutella stuffed cookies will be around this weekend! Belinda, we are now certified addicts of your baking. Thanks for killing our diet plans this summer.
Final Thoughts About Kelowna’s Farmers Market
Look at that steamed bun. Please just trust me when I say the sweet and sour veggie steamed bun from King’s Vegetarian Food is to die for. The bubble tea not very good but the buns and crispy bean curds are WOW. Anyways, my final thoughts on the Kelowna Farmers Market are that there are a lot of duplicate vendors in the winter and stock runs out faster than during the summer market. Also, there are only a 1/4 of the vendors from the summer that can fit at the winter venue, making your trip around the market no longer than 30 minutes. This just means you can come every weekend and find something new! Also, if there’s one thing you can be certain of when visiting the Kelowna Farmers Market, it’s that you will always leave with a snack. Always. Sweet or savory, big or small, the market has something for everyone!
The next question is, when are you going to start Discovering Kelowna?
