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




Name

Ramekin

Variant

Ramequin, Ramekin dish.

Pronounced

(ramə 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 They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface.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.

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Monday, October 27, 2014

Robert Gordon Pottery


Designer        
Homage to June Dyson ramekin from 1960s
Maker
Robert Gordon
Marks
Stamped “Cutie Pies Robert Gordon Australia made in china” in black ink to base.
Material
Glazed slip
Description
Gloss glazed slip in pale pastel colours.  Mould formed with flat handle moulded to top of rim, splayed at end.  Unglazed foot ring.
Condition
Very good
Number
No number
Production Date
1990s
Width at rim
110mm
Width at Base
65mm
Depth
65mm
Length (with handle)
140mm
Weight
280gm
Volume
300ml
Acquisition
Purchase
Waverly Antiques
24 October 2014
Rameking Reference Number
RGP 001 to 004

Just like mother used to make.  That is what you could say about these ramekins.  Similar in design to earlier June Dyson ramekins.  The “Cutie Pies” range is no longer made, but these examples survive.  These ramekins are stamped “made in china” as part of the base.  The full stamp says “Cutie Pies Robert Gordon Australia made in china”.  Earlier works made in Gembrook at the Pack Track Pottery are hand painted with “Robert Gordon” or just, “Gordon” in oxide. Wares made at the Robert Gordon Pottery in Pakenham are stamped 'Robert Gordon Pottery Australia', 'Robert Gordon Pottery Australian Made' or 'Robert Gordon Australia'. But the story and inspiration for Robert Gordon dates long before. 


Andy’s mother, the renowned Australian potter June Dyson, first set up her studios in 1945. June formed a partnership with her husband Colin who became the company’s business director. And it was June’s second son Robert Andrew “Andy” Gordon, who showed most interest in the pottery, helping out in the studios from his early twenties. It was inevitable that Andy would one day follow in his mother’s footsteps.  And having married his English wife Barbara, the couple set about building their dream.
  

June Dyson Ramekins from the 1950s or 60s.

Over thirty years ago, in 1979, ‘Andy’ walked into a ten by eight foot tin shed in Gembrook, a small town in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne, picked up a lump of clay and turned his potters wheel. The “Pack Track Pottery” was born. Production was transported to St Kilda Sunday market and other locations around Melbourne.  Sales increased and larger premises were needed.

One of Robert Gordon early unglazed earthenware ramekins

By 1987 the company had outgrown the tin shed and needed to expand. Two factories in Pakenham were bought and Robert Gordon had grown from a tin shed with a dirt floor to a large purpose built headquarters.  It was also the time to bring new staff into the business. Andy and Barbara didn’t have to look far, their four children Hannah, Kate, Bobby and Sam all joined the business. History had repeated with a third generation in pottery.  Eventually up to 100 people were employed, but cheaper imports caused the business to suffer and contract to one location.  Now their children are an integral part of the company. Each one plays a different and vital role, helping to shape Robert Gordon today. More than sixty years of heritage and three generations of potters. Robert Gordon. Proud of its past, its future fired with imagination.

Robert Gordon is one of the last remaining production potteries in Australia, responsible for over 150,000 individual products per year (think tableware, kitchenware and other high-end ceramic homewares).  In addition to this impressive output, in recent years the business has diversified, and now imports selected product from all over the world to complement their core range of locally manufactured product.  From their headquarters and factory in Pakenham, Robert Gordon now employs around 40 people, stocks over 3000 independent retailers in Australia, the U.S.A, Canada, U.K and New Zealand.

Around 4 tonnes of clay is used each week.  The clay is sourced in New South Wales, milled at Clayworks in Dandenong Victoria.  Clayworks produces a wide range of earthenware and porcelain clays.  The milled clay is then shipped to Pakenham.  Their hollow ware is slip cast and their flatware is ram-pressed by machine.  Some products are still hand thrown.

For more, look at this website;  http://thedesignfiles.net/2014/02/family-portrait-the-gordons/