What’s at Woodinville Farmers Market This Week? July 2

Say “honey” to Valery Schick and she won’t think you’re sweet on her.

Instead, she’ll give you a detailed lesson on the nuances of the gooey, golden stuff and why it shouldn’t all taste the same.

Schick is in her 10^th year as a vendor at the , her 15^th as a beekeeper.

“I’ve always been interested in educating the public about raw honey,” says Schick.

On Saturday, she’ll have four types of raw honey: raspberry, blackberry, fireweed (also called summer primrose) and summer wildflower.

Don’t confuse the names with “flavors,” Schick explains. Yes, each has a unique taste (blackberry and raspberry tend to be sweeter), but that’s because of where the bees hang out.

“They’re mono-floral honeys,” she says. “They’re all specific to these flowers. … They only bloom in certain seasons, so the bees pretty much stay in one kind of flower.”

Schick, who expanded her Val’s Surroundings honey business by launching a gift shop next to the Maltby Café last fall, took up beekeeping when a friend suggested taking a class.

“I said, ‘what?’ And lo and behold, two years later” she launched into her hobby, eventually turning it into a business.

Bees and honey have been on the national radar with the emergence of colony collapse and the news that some honey imported from China is tainted with illegal antibiotics but difficult to detect.

That’s another reason to buy it locally, says Schick, who lives about 10 miles east of Duvall.

“If you know your beekeeper, you know your honey.”

Last call

This weekend will be the last chance for those with a sweet tooth to get Lilli-Pilli’s French macarons at the farmers market. Owner Rhiannon Devine says this is her last weekend selling there, due to economic reasons.

On the menu:

Fleur de Sel Caramel
Lemon and Rhubarb
Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache
PB&J

The Woodinville Farmers Market is open Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., until fall. It’s located at 17301 133rd Ave. N.E., next to City Hall.