The Rameking

Worldwide Headquarters of the Australian Studio Art Ramekin, (and a few others) that piece of Australiana that has almost disappeared from our lives and tables. How many of you Baby Boomers have sat in front of a warm fire in winter, eating tinned spaghetti from a ramekin? In the period between the World Wars, and in the decades after, many famous artists made ramekins. They continued until cheap imports and copies almost killed them off in the 1970s. See them here in all their faded glory.

Ramekin is thought to come from a Dutch word for "toast" or the German for "little cream."

Name

Ramekin

Variant

Ramequin, Ramekin dish.

Pronounced

(ram′ə kin)[RAM-ih-kihn]ræməkin

Function

English Noun
Plural

Ramekins

Hypernym

A type of dish

Purpose

Cooking

Etymology

French Ramequin from Low German ramken, diminutive of cream, circa 1706. middle Dutch rammeken (cheese dish) dialect variant of rom (cream), similar to old English ream and German rahm. Ancient French cookbooks refer to ramekins as being garnished fried bread.

Meaning

1. A food mixture, (casserole) specifically a preparation of cheese, especially with breadcrumbs and/or eggs or unsweetened pastry baked on a mould or shell.

2. With a typical volume of 50-250 ml (2-8 oz), it is a small fireproof glass or earthenware individual dish similar in size and shape to a cup, or mould used for cooking or baking and serving sweet or savoury foods.

3. Formerly the name given to toasted cheese; now tarts filled with cream cheese.

4. A young child usually between the ages of 3 months and 11 years exhibiting a compulsion to force or "ram" their head into various objects and structures.

These days, a ramekin is generally regarded as a small single serve heatproof serving bowl used in the preparation or serving of various food dishes, designed to be put into hot ovens and to withstand high temperatures. They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface. Ramekins have more lately been standardized to a size with a typical volume of 50-250 ml (2-8 ounce) and are now used for serving a variety of sweet and savoury foods, both entrée and desert.

They are also an attractive addition to the table for serving nuts,dips and other snacks. Because they are designed to hold a serving for just one person, they are usually sold in sets of four, six, or eight. Ramekins now are solid white, round, with a fluted texture covering the outside, and a small lip. Please bear in mind that whatever you ask for them on Internet auction sites, someone is still getting the same thing in an op shop for peanuts.

However, there are hundreds of decorative ramekins that came in a variety of shapes and sizes. They came in countless colours and finishes and many were made by our leading artists and ceramicists. My collection has ramekins with One handle only, fixed to the body at one point only. If it has no handle, it is a bowl. If it has two, it is a casserole dish. But the glory day of the Australian Studio Art ramekin is well and truly over. See some here, ask questions or leave answers.

P.S. Remember, just as real men don't eat quiche, real ramekins don't have lids or two handles. Also remember, two handles makes it a casserole dish. Also, please note If it aint got a handle, it's just a bowl.
P.P.S. To all you cretins who advertise your ramekins by associating them with "Eames" or "Eames Era". Get your hand off it, you are not kidding anyone. The Eames people have told me that they never made ramekins.
P.P.P.s To all the illiterates out there in cyberspace, just as there is no "I" in team, there is no "G" in Ramekin. I am the Rameking, they are ramekins.
If you have a set of Grandma's ramekins at the back of a kitchen cupboard, have a look through the site, maybe you will identify them. Thank-you for looking.
There are many of you out there that have knowledge of Australian pottery. Please let me know if you have anything that I can add to the notes. It is important to get the information recorded. You probably know something that nobody else does.
Please note that while your comments are most welcome, any that contain a link to another site will no longer be published.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Mystery Maker Marked J-I France

Designer	Not known
Maker	Not known
Marks	Painted to base “J-I France
Material	Wheel-thrown Earthenware
Description	Shallow bowl with widened lip rounded handle and flat base. Double glazed to interior of bowl. Sgrafitto leaf design through top glaze. Dark matte contrast colour applied to inside top of rim
Condition	Very good for age, some chips to rim of one bowl.
Number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	80mm
Depth	33mm
Length (with handle)	177mm
Weight	205gm
Volume	200ml
Acquisition	Vinnies, Edithvale, Victoria 5^th June 2012
Rameking Reference Number	JIF 001-002

Seemingly made for fondue, they are made from earthenware, which is a porous ceramic, usually hand-made clay (inorganic non-metallic solid) fired at a low heat, (1000-1150 degrees Celsius) usually glazed to the interior of a bowl to retain contents by making it impervious to liquids. Majolica, Delft and Faence ware are examples of Earthenware. Particle size can vary. Firing temperature may vary depending on the type of material used.

These ramekins have been double glazed so that a leaf pattern can be seen by exposing the darker underglaze. It is likely that because of the hole in the handle, they form part of a rustic style fondue set so popular in Europe in the 1960s and 70s. A fondue is a dish of Swiss origin, also popular in France and northern Italy. It is shared from a single pot that is heated over a small flame. Usually the contents are either cheese mixed with white wine, or chocolate, although other items can also be used. Food, such as bread or fruit on long forks is dipped into the pot containing the melted cheese or chocolate.

Rameking Romance tip; Gentlemen who wish to improve their chances with the ladies would be well advised to resurrect a fondue set. Not the cheese dip that will have them run a mile, but with melted chocolate. If you have got her to your place, she is already interested. Get her to dip strawberries into hot melted chocolate and you on a winner. Ladies love a man that cooks, and they love chocolate even more. Team it with fruit, preferably strawberries, and they think it is healthy. Team it with a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter evening. In ladies, the chocoholic gene is far more developed and responsive than in gentlemen. Gemutlichkeit in German means cosiness or feeling pleasure in a comfortable environment and a fondue for two does that in spades.

Try this recipe;

http://www.toblerone.co.uk/toblerone1/page?siteid=toblerone1-prd&locale=uken1&PagecRef=638

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Fris (N.V. Keramik Industrie Fris) Edam

Designer	Willem Hendrik DeVries
Maker	NV Ceramic Industry Fresh
Marks	Stamped “Made in Holland Fris Edam” to base
Material	Porcelain
Description	Press moulded straight-sided bowl angling outwards to top. Bottom half with vertical fluting. Short curved handle angled upwards from fixing at center of bowl. Grey gloss glazed interior with single varied colour to exterior.
Condition	Very good for age, slight chip to footring of one bowl with slight discolouring to interior.
Number
Production Date	Late 1960s
Width at rim	117mm
Width at Base	85mm
Depth	60mm
Length (with handle)	143mm
Weight	180gm
Volume	370ml
Acquisition	Salvo Store, Noble Park, Victoria
Rameking Reference Number	FRI 001-004

Designer	Willem Hendrik DeVries
Maker	NV Ceramic Industry Fresh
Marks	Stamped “Made in Holland Fris Edam” to base
Material	Porcelain
Description	Press moulded straight-sided bowl angling outwards to top. Short flat curved handle angled upwards from fixing at center of bowl. Off-white gloss glazed interior with single varied matt colour to exterior.
Condition	Very good for age, slight discolouring to interior.
Number	No number
Production Date	Late 1960s
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	65mm
Depth	55mm
Length (with handle)	152mm
Weight	195gm
Volume	375ml
Acquisition	Salvo Store, Noble Park, Victoria
Rameking Reference Number	FRI 005-011

At the height of the Second World War, Gerrit Fris and his son, also named Gerrit began the “NV Art Pottery” Like many others before and since with no experience in ceramics, they bought in the talent. They hired Willem Hendrik De Vries as their “Aesthetic Consultant”. He remained with them until 1967. From 1938 to 1968 he was teaching ceramics at the Institute of Applied Art in Amsterdam and joined NV Ceramic Industry in 1943, then located in Gouda.

They moved from Gouda to Edam in 1947 because of the post-war labour shortage in Gouda to premises formerly occupied by the staff canteen of the Fokker aircraft factory in Holland. With the help of government grants and a pool of unemployed fishermen caused by the damming of the Zuider Zee, they opened a new works there on the 3^rd of January 1947. In 1951, demand exceeded supply.

From 1946 to 1969 Willem de Vries held the post of Director in design, which from 1947 was located in Edam, and with his talent, the pottery soon became a leading maker. Other designers were Nel Bruynzeel, Dick Gerrits, Hannie Terpstra, Emile Truyen, Jan Lucassen and Floris Meydam as his deputy. They made dinnerware and vases inspired by the Bauhaus with an emphasis on utility, quality and design; colour was important. De Vries continued teaching during his time with Fris.

These ramekins are typical of his design influence and although missing the underplates, they hark back to the tea sets that were their first products in 1947. The NV Ceramic Industry Fresh existed from 1947 to 1969. Part of their design philosophy was that decoration was impractical and detracted from the design, diverting attention from the form. They are a form of “Missing Link” with fluting making an appearance before the disappearance of the handle.

Pride of place had traditionally been the china cabinet. Rows of plates, bowls and jugs stood proudly on shelves in dressers in most Dutch homes. This trend tapered off as tastes changed in the sixties and as a result, ceramics production and sales in The Netherlands fell to only a fraction of that of the industry at its height. If you see their dishes displayed at home then it is understandable that the utilitarian lack of decoration of Fris is not an asset.

Their stylish and balanced pottery is little known outside the Netherlands but is now collectable and some of their work is expensive. By 1969, the company was bankrupt and was taken over by the Triangle Pottery. Triangle changed its name in 1970 to “The Pottery House” and moved production to Lelystadt in 1988 where it continues as “New Land Pottery.”

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Holly Hobbie

Designer	Holly Hobbie
Maker	WWA inc.
Marks	Stamp to base “Holly Hobbie Country Living Collection Stoneware and Ovenproof WWA Inc MCMLXXXI Cleveland USA 44144 Made in Korea”
Material	Stoneware
Description	Heavy stoneware lozenge bowl with knob handled lid and long perforated closed ended knob handle Cream glaze to interior and exterior, unglazed flat base. Decal of Holly Hobbie character to exterior side of bowl with various homily sayings on side.
Condition	Very good
Number	No number
Production Date	1980
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	110mm
Depth	50mm
Length (with handle)	185mm
Weight	Ramekin 415gm, Lid 160gm.
Volume	375ml
Acquisition	1 on E-Bay 1 Jun 2012, 1 at Vinnies Oakleigh 30 May 2012
Rameking Reference Number	HOH-001-003

These ramekins were made for Holly Hobbie, a creation of Denise Holly Ulinskas born in 1944. In 1964 she married author Douglas Hobbie and now lives in Conway, Massachusetts, USA. She began drawing profile views of a little girl in a bonnet and rural style dress around 1968. For many years she was a contract artist at the curiously named Humerous Planning Department at American Greeting Corporation Incorporated based in Brooklyn Ohio. The character became very, very popular and a line of greeting cards soon followed. Later the character was marketed under license in many ways by dozens of different companies, hence these ramekins. She also authored the popular “Toot and Puddle’ series of books. Holly Hobbie merchandise is now very collectable.

Look up Wikipedia for the (almost) full story and for much more detail, go to www.hollyhobbieworld.com For their ramekins, read on because they are part of their Country Living Collection that included various Canisters, a Teapot, Milk Jugs, Casserole Dishes, Tea & Coffee Cups, Egg Cups; Lidded Butter Dish, Salt Cellar, Salt & Pepper Shakers, (the ramekins also came with soup tureen (crock))

It appears that their range of this type of dinnerware was made between 1973 and 1982. As mentioned earlier, like many companies in America at the time, Holly Hobby licensed their products. Anchor Hocking for their Ironstone and glassware, Chilton Globe for their cookware. Anchor Hocking is still around, but Chilton Globe had a number of brands associated with them that have now all lapsed. Chilton Globe (Far East) Ltd. Hong Kong was established on the 4^th of August 1971 and dissolved on the 11^th of April 2003. The Chilton Globe trademark is now owned from 30^th May 1992 by Strombecker Corporation. I think that their stuff was actually manufactured by the Chaozhou Chinaware Factory, Fenxi, Chaozhao, China.

These ramekins were made by WWA Incorporated. It appears that they were sub-contracted yet again to a Korean maker as the design and making is similar to other Korean or Japanese ramekins. The backstamp says “Made in Korea”. The premier Korean manufacturer at the time was Haeng Nan who also made for Ji Stoneware. The slip appears similar.

WWA inc stands for “World Wide Art Incorporated” an American company from Cleveland Ohio, USA who manufactured for Hollie Hobbie in the Republic of China, Japan and Korea during the 1970s and 80s, producing a variety of collectable ceramics including these ramekins.

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Origin of the Australian Art Studio Ramekin

In the 19th Century, Ramequin Cases began to be used in cooking. These were paper cups, similar to those used for cupcakes or muffins. As time passed, people began to make them from clay and the spelling mostly changed from Ramequin to Ramekin. Ramequin still holds out in a few places, mainly in parts of the USA. The heyday of the Australian ramekin began in the 1930s.

Australian Art Studio pottery grew out of the 19th Century Arts and Crafts Movement. Following the upheaval of the First World War, potters found that many people still wanted hand made homewares. In Australia, many potters opened studios to meet this demand which intensified after the Second World War when returned ex services people set up their homes. It is the fallout from this ageing group that is now finding it’s way onto the market. Most of them may never be valuable, it is only their intrinsic value,but after another 100 years, who knows?

The Government, still in austerity mode encouraged manufacture of practical pottery post World War 2, by placing a higher tax on decorative wares, leading to potteriesmaking items that were decorative but had a practical use,thus avoiding the tax. This explains the absence of figurines that were the mainstay of many English potteries, and the proliferation of things like ramekins and vases.

Retraining programmes for returned and wounded soldiers at the end of the First and Second World Wars provided a workforce for the many potteries that flourished in Australia at the time. After the First World War, Bendigo Pottery needed a trained workforce to help make the flood of bricks for the housing in Melbourne. Towards the end of the Second, Guy Boyd worked at the Rehabilitation Hospital at Ingleburn, New South Wales, teaching pottery

Before take away food and plastics came to dominate the market, ceramics were used for a much wider range of products. The population explosion created by the Australian gold rush resulted in an increased demand for all kinds of locally manufactured goods. As the market diversified so too did the pottery, from commercial packaging to utility kitchenware. For the larger pottery’s, domestic items were, however, always a sideline to the main business of serving the building trade. For some, smaller potteries and individual potters, ramekins were the main income producer.

In 1957 the Australia-Japan Agreement on Commerce negotiated by Australian Trade Minister, John 'Black Jack' McEwan dealt a major blow to commercial potteries. This agreement opened the doors for mass- produced cheap Japanese ceramics to flood the Australian market. Many local commercial potteries were forced out of business by this competition, but a few managed to survive.

There are also the untold stories of some Eastern European migrants fleeing persecution who made a new life in post war Australia, thanks largely to ramekins. Because they made homewares and not art sculpture, their stories have not been adequately told. In some cases, this is the only place you will find part of their stories.

To help calculate the relative cost of these ramekins, I have here are a couple of items to compare the average weekly earnings for a man in Australia for the decades during which ramekins were popular; In 1940, it was $9.60, in 1950 it was $11.50. To convert to the old currency, divide by two.

Please Note

Comments on this blog are moderated BEFORE they appear on the site, and this takes time. There is often a delay between a comment being posted and it being approved. If you do not wish to have your comment posted, I will not post it.

The photographs form part of the description. Due to the light, my photos may show slight variances in colour and some shadows, distortions, reflections and highlights that should not be there. Also different computers and monitor settings will affect colours. My ramekins are all washed in warm water with mild detergent as this identifies any crazing or cracks that are very faint, or invisible to the naked eye. This ensures that the descriptions are more accurate.

Modern Ramekins

Ramekins are one of the few baking dishes that actually have their own name, setting them apart from generic sounding “cake pans” and “baking dishes.” Modern ramekins are small, cylindrical dishes that are used for baking individually sized dishes. They are ideal for baking small soufflés, as their straight sides make it easy for an egg white-based souffle mixture to rise up the sides of the dish and gain a lot of height, as well as for baking individual desserts, since they offer built-in portion control. Use them for little pudding cakes and baked egg-cups, and also for chilled desserts, such as panna cotta and chocolate mousse.

Ramekins can be made out of any heat-proof material; most modern ones are often made out of porcelain, pyrex or something similar. They can come in any size, but are most often found in 4-, 6- or 8-ounce volumes. Some will have very shallow sides, but most have a rise of about an inch or so, depending on the size of the dish itself.

Their small size actually makes them useful for applications outside of the oven. For instance, they’re often used when a cook is doing preparation work in the kitchen, separating chopped ingredients into individual dishes to be used at a later time. They’re also a nice way to present side servings of dressings, sauces and dips.

There are a small number of people who refer to ramekins as “pipkins”. I do not. Yes, there are similarities, but historically, a pipkin is a small earthenware or metal cooking pot used for cooking over direct heat. They had a tripod moulded into the base to stand clear of the fire. Examples of Romano-British pipkins are not uncommon. Late medieval and postmedieval pipkins had a hollow handle in order to insert a stick in it for manipulation. See the “Diana” ramekins for a recent homage to this. Many more recent ones have a spout at a right angle to the handle.

To me a ramekin without a handle is just a bowl or a dish.

It's simple really.

No handle-it's a bowl or a dish

One handle-it's a Ramekin

Two Handles-it's a Casserole dish

Copyright

Most of the images on this site are of my collection as are the comments. Other images and comments on this site are reproduced for the purposes of your information and interest only. I would be grateful for any information concerning Copyright and I will withdraw any items so described immediately on Copyright holder's request.

Please leave any other comments regarding anything on this blog. In the interests of accuracy, I will be pleased to have any information or comments you may have. There are many older people out there that have been involved in the Australian pottery world of the fifties and sixties. Get those arthritic fingers moving and put that knowledge out there. When you go, it goes with you.

Disclaimer

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The facts, figures, reviews, records, statistics, and other data presented on this blog is for suggestion and information purposes only. The Rameking is not responsible for any incorrect or incomplete information. The Rameking does not take responsibility for any user-reviews of websites inside its resource and reserves the right to keep or remove those. It is highly recommended that you review all the data for accuracy.

Name	Ramekin
Variant	Ramequin, Ramekin dish.
Pronounced	(ram′ə kin)[RAM-ih-kihn]ræməkin
Function	English Noun
Plural	Ramekins
Hypernym	A type of dish
Purpose	Cooking
Etymology	French Ramequin from Low German ramken, diminutive of cream, circa 1706. middle Dutch rammeken (cheese dish) dialect variant of rom (cream), similar to old English ream and German rahm. Ancient French cookbooks refer to ramekins as being garnished fried bread.
Meaning	1. A food mixture, (casserole) specifically a preparation of cheese, especially with breadcrumbs and/or eggs or unsweetened pastry baked on a mould or shell. 2. With a typical volume of 50-250 ml (2-8 oz), it is a small fireproof glass or earthenware individual dish similar in size and shape to a cup, or mould used for cooking or baking and serving sweet or savoury foods. 3. Formerly the name given to toasted cheese; now tarts filled with cream cheese. 4. A young child usually between the ages of 3 months and 11 years exhibiting a compulsion to force or "ram" their head into various objects and structures.