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4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, October 29, 1996 .CoMMUD A tasty tradition Betty Gray of Port Perry's been treating local kids for 30 years By Heather McCrae Special to the Star This Thursday morn- ing, when many of us are hurrying about picking up more Halloween candy, Betty Gray will be in her kitchen, making several batches of her famous can- dy apples. This will be Mrs. Gray's 30th year making taffy ap- ples for Halloween. It was shortly after her marriage that the Port Perry wom- an found a recipe in "some old yellow cookbook." Now, after several years of trial and error, she's per- fected the recipe, and it's one trick or treaters have been enjoying for three decades. - "T've added some, delet- ed a bit, and now have it perfected so that the can- died coating on the apples is rock hard," she smiled. And, no, there aren't any special ingredients; just white sugar, corn syr- up, water, red food color- ing and cinnamon. "It isn't the ingredients, it's the method," Mrs. Gray insists. And she's never been one to use a candy thermometer, ei- * ther. Instead, her method -- is the old-fashioned way of dripping candy off a spoon into a glass of cold water. When the candy forms a hard ball in the water, the temperature's right for dipping apples. For the first few years after her marriage, when the family lived on the main street, Betty would make 250 apples, and al- ways ran out shortly after 7 p.m. on Halloween night. Now, she makes*.half that amount every year, and ends up giving half of them to adults. Quite of- ten a second generation comes knocking at her door on Halloween night. "Kids that came around when they were young are now bringing their kids to my door," said Mrs. Gray. She gets a bushel of small McIntosh apples set + aside for-her at Ocala Or- chards every fall. Years ago when Ocala Orchards had school tours, the kids would always see bushels of McIntosh, Spartans, Cortlands, and more; and there'd always be a bushel set aside with her name tagged onit. "Kids would always ask Mr. Smith "what's a Gray apple? Mrs. Gray chuck- led. A few years ago after the Smiths moved into town, Les Smith came to Mrs. Gray's door Halloween night, and finally got his first candy apple. She always uses small apples so the kids will eat the whole thing. "If you use big apples, they will chew the candy and throw the rest away," shesays. her thing Mrs. Gray does is include a la- bel with her name and ad- ° dress printed on it. She says parents feel safer having their children eat something that bears the name of the cook attached toit. : "I always get a few phone calls from people saying how much they en- Joyed my apples," she said. But it isn't just the trick or treaters who are anx- ious to taste her apples. Even though her chil- . dren have grown up and - moved away from home, they're always first in the door when they know mom is making those luscious candy apples again. KELLY LOWN/PORT PERRY STAR QUILT WINNER. Martha Schissler, of Durham Farm and Rural Family Re- sources, Corinne Croxall, Betheda W.1. president, and Julia Munroe, MPP for Durham York, drew the winning raffle ticket for this quilt at a meeting last week. The lucky winner was Rosemary Mustard of Uxbridge. Betty Gray has been making and old -- in Port Perry for 30 y on hér door years ago are now Mystery tick Tickets are still available for first murder mystery evening to be at the Scugog Shores Museum Vi on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Stroll through the candle and la: village to collect clues. Talk to the ce tery caretaker, the minister, the pr schoolmistress and others to fin who did it. Each character will tell what he thought of the deceased why they think he died. : Hospice seeks The North Durham Hospice is reaching out to the public for assistance. . The hospice has been very busy lately, and re- quires more volunteers to help people in need of sup- port. The hospice dffers a pal- liative care training course, taking place in the near future during day or evening hours, depending