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 They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface.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

Friday, January 30, 2015

Innobella

Designer	Not known
Maker	Innobella
Marks	No marks
Material	Glazed stoneware
Description	Heavy, gloss glazed stoneware bowl with flat unglazed foot. High waisted bowl indented near rim. Separate vented lid with vent moulded into knob on lid. Hollow wide trumpet handle fixed externally at mid point of bowl. Circular ringed pattern to simulate wheel throwing.
Condition	Very good
Number	No number
Production Date	Approximately 2005
Width at rim	107mm
Width at Base	95mm
Depth	62mm
Length (with handle)	177mm
Lid	112mm wide 190gm
Weight	420gm
Volume	400ml
Acquisition	Purchase Vinnies Carrum Downs 29^th January 2015.
Rameking Reference Number	INN 001

Success breeds imitation. No doubt you will have seen the advertisements on television for the Stonewave Microwave Cooker. They produce a large range under the “As Seen On TV” banner. Well, this ramekin was advertised as a lower cost alternative. Advertised as the “Innobella Ceramic Microwave Micro-Cooker.” I got this one at an even lower price in an Op-Shop recently.

There is no information around about who “Innobella” are, except that they produce a range of kitchenware. This type of cooking has mixed results, if the on-line reviews are to be believed. Like all things, it is personal taste. Chances are, that it was made in China.

Isobel

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Incised “Isobel Australia Hand Made”
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Hand thrown gloss glazed two-coloured glaze to half of body. Straight, angled sides to raised foot ring. Squared tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior
Condition	Mostly very good. Some small chips to base
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	108mm
Width at Base	73mm
Depth	53mm
Length (with handle)	130mm
Weight	180gm
Volume	250ml
Acquisition	Purchase Salvo Stores, Brandon Park 30^th January 2015.
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 001-116

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	No marks on one but stamped “Isobel Australia” on others
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Hand thrown gloss glazed white coloured glaze to interior of body and foot ring, Harlequin pastels to exterior. Straight, angled sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior
Condition	Mostly very good. Some small chips to base
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	108mm
Width at Base	73mm
Depth	46mm
Length (with handle)	140mm
Weight	200gm
Volume	235ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 017-020

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Incised “Isobel” to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Hand thrown gloss glazed harlequin coloured glaze to interior and exterior of body with unglazed foot ring, Harlequin pastels to exterior. Curved, angled sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior
Condition	Mostly very good. Some small chips to base and rim
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	55mm
Width at Base	47mm
Depth	46mm
Length (with handle)	125mm
Weight	100gm
Volume	180ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 021-025

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Painted “Isobel Aust”in black to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed matte glazed brown overglaze to interior and exterior of body, Harlequin pastels to exterior. Large curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior.
Condition	Mostly very good. Some small bubbles in glaze to base. Run in glaze to each side.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	125mm
Width at Base	52mm
Depth	53mm
Length (with handle)	169mm
Weight	330gm
Volume	480ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 026

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Painted “Isobel Aust”in black to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed matte glazed brown overglaze to interior and exterior of body, Harlequin pastels to exterior. Large curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior. Stencilled leaf pattern in pale brown to bottom of bowl interior
Condition	Mostly very good. Spur marks to base.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	125mm
Width at Base	52mm
Depth	40mm
Length (with handle)	169mm
Weight	245gm
Volume	300ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 027-129

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Painted “Isobel Aust”in black to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed matte glazed brown overglaze to interior and exterior of body, Harlequin pastels to exterior. Large curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior. Stencilled leaf pattern in pale blue to bottom of bowl interior
Condition	Mostly very good. Spur marks to base.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	125mm
Width at Base	52mm
Depth	40mm
Length (with handle)	169mm
Weight	245gm
Volume	300ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 030-034

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	incised “Isobel Aust” to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed matte glazed black overglaze to interior and exterior of body. Large curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior. Stencilled leaf pattern in pale blue to bottom of bowl interior
Condition	Very good.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	125mm
Width at Base	52mm
Depth	40mm
Length (with handle)	169mm
Weight	245gm
Volume	300ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 031-032

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Painted “Isobel Aust” in black to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed white gloss glazed green overglaze to rim and top two thirds of exterior of body. Large curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior. Painted mushrooms in green and brown to bottom of bowl interior
Condition	Very good.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	125mm
Width at Base	52mm
Depth	40mm
Length (with handle)	169mm
Weight	245gm
Volume	300ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 033

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Painted “Isobel Aust” in black to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed white gloss glazed brown swirled overglaze to rim and exterior of body. Harlequin interior. Large curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior.
Condition	Very good.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	115mm
Width at Base	67mm
Depth	48mm
Length (with handle)	160mm
Weight	225gm
Volume	325ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 034-036

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Incised “Isobel Aust” to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed pale green gloss exterior. Interior pink with floral pattern hand painted by Helen Ilich. Harlequin interior. Curved, sides to raised foot ring. Long pointedknife shaped handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior.
Condition	Very good.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	120mm
Width at Base	60mm
Depth	42mm
Length (with handle)	177mm
Weight	230gm
Volume	270ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 037-039

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Incised “Isobel” to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed pale pink gloss exterior. Interior blue. Curved, sides to raised foot ring. Pointed tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior.
Condition	Very good.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	118mm
Width at Base	60mm
Depth	50mm
Length (with handle)	158mm
Weight	215gm
Volume	320ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 040

Designer	Isobel
Maker	Isobel
Marks	Painted “Isobel Australia by Helen” to base
Material	Glazed slip
Description	Mould formed cream gloss exterior with green edging on rim and handle. Interior cream with painted pea pod design by Helen Ilich. Straight, sides angled down to raised unglazed foot ring. Squared tab handle with dimpled top attached to upper third of exterior.
Condition	Very good.
Number	No number
Production Date	1960s
Width at rim	118mm
Width at Base	80mm
Depth	46mm
Length (with handle)	134mm
Weight	220gm
Volume	250ml
Acquisition	Purchase
Rameking Reference Number	ISO 041

Isobel produced around a dozen different ramekins over the relatively short life of the pottery. There were only a few different shapes but each was decorated differently. There appears to have only been two different handle shapes, either a pointed tab or squared tab handle, no matter the size or shape of the bowl.

Standard reference on pottery marks (Ford) refers to Hilda Ilich as being Isobel. I think he may be incorrect on this one. Helen Ilich, Painter and Ceramic Artist was born in Croatia in 1914, migrated to Australia 1950 is considered by many to be Isobel but I think they are wrong on this. Isobel probably refers to Isobel Joy Fraser who ran the show but I have no confirmation or information on this. I got that information second-hand and cannot find any reference to any such person. I believe that both Helen and Isobel may have worked together at Boyds. These ramekins were made by "Isobel Art Pottery" on the Maroondah Highway in Croydon, Victoria, now an outer suburb of Melbourne. Little information is available on her or her work other than her working with Guy Boyd in Bentleigh before moving to Croydon where she worked in her normally one-person operation in a shed at the back of a shop.

Many of her ramekins are incised "Isobel" to the base or stamped. The shape and style are like those of Guy Boyd and Ray Cook, perhaps an early work copying their Bentleigh studio. Copyright was a little more flexible in those days. Described as "Hand Made", some of her ramekins were thrown with the chocolate brown colour mixed into the clay and a light glaze applied to the interior. Some ramekins are not stamped, or maybe it wore off from use.

Helen Ilich, Painter and Ceramic Artist was born in Croatia in 1914, migrated to Australia 1950. She worked at Ellis' in 1955, then Guy Boyd’s pottery, Crosbie Road, East Bentleigh. She left Boyds around 1960 to work at Isobel. She stopped at Isobel after 2 years to return to Ellis. Helen then taught painting to women from a studio in her home. She continued painting into the mid 1990s and died in 2002. She started by underglaze painting some of her work with her name "H.Ilich", on some of "Isobel"s output, this is where the confusion arises.

Little information is available on her or her work other than her working with Guy Boyd in Bentleigh before moving to Croydon where she worked mainly as a one-person operation in a shed at the back of a shop. Any other information would be appreciated.

For those who may be interested, here is a more fulsome story of Helen;

Jellina (Helen) Ilic (nee Popovic) (1914-2001) was a Serbian, born in the town of Osijec, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) on 19 February 1914. She was taught art by a Russian immigrant who lived in the area and hoped to attend art school in Vienna.

However her father resisted the idea and instead encouraged her to marry, which she did in 1934, marrying Bozidar Ilic (born in 1908), a Serbian from a poor family. He had hoped to study, but instead joined the army. Helen continued to paint at home until the birth of her son Vojislau in 1937. She also had a daughter, Nina, who was born in 1934.

During World War Two Bozidar was captured by invading Italians and held captive for several years. Upon his release he walked to Switzerland and enrolled in an architecture course for six years. During this time Helen worked as a high school art teacher in Yugoslavia.

In 1950 Bozidar immigrated to Melbourne and was initially employed dredging the docks. However around 1953 he gained employment as an architect with the Public Works department. The same year he arranged for his family to migrate to Australia with the assistance of the Red Cross. Helen and the children travelled on the SS Oceania (via Trieste - Genoa - Naples – Messira - Suez - Port Said - Aiden - Colombo – Fremantle) in the lower berths, which let in water when the seas were rough. Despite this discomfort Nina recalls enjoying the journey. Helen brought three to four crates with her, one of which held selected special paintings - a portrait of her grandmother, a landscape and a still life.

When his family arrived Bozidar bought a house at 75 Highett Street in Richmond - he had previously been living in Spring Street - and the family were sent out to work. From Highett Street, Bodizar could walk to work. Helen worked as a Kindergarten Assistant, she is listed on the Electoral Roll as a Teacher. Nina worked with a dressmaker and Vojislau worked on building sites. Nina and Vojislau did eventually attend school, MacRobertson and RMIT respectively. Vojislau becoming an Engineer,

Around 1955, Helen joined the Ellis ceramic studio in Fitzroy, which had been established by two Czechoslovakian immigrants, Dagmar and Miloslav Kratochvil, in the mid 1950s. Helen did decorative features on pots and vases (etching) before firing. This was paid piece work rates and she left the studio due to the dusty conditions.

She then joined Guy Boyd’s studio in East Bentleigh in 1956 or 1957 and was employed doing decorative paintings on the ceramics, according to Boyd’s directions. Boyd also encouraged Helen to do souvenir brooches, which she particularly enjoyed. Guy Boyd Pottery produced a wide range of modernist objects from house-wares to decorative pieces, featuring iconic Australian imagery, particularly flora and indigenous motifs.

Helen remained at Boyd's for two to three years, but left at the request of her husband. She then went to work with Isobel, who had worked with her at Boyd's, but had left to start her own studio in a backyard shed in Oakleigh. The conditions were basic and the travel times long. Helen worked with Isobel for about two years and also worked part-time at Ellis, as they had requested her return.

In 1959 Helen and her family moved from Richmond to 36 The Righi, Ivanhoe, where she set up a studio in her home, teaching women oil painting, Bozidar was still working for the Public Service. In the late 1960s she joined the Heidelberg District Artists' Society and exhibited in Heidelberg, in Fitzroy during Moomba and at the Camberwell Town Hall. She sold a small amount of work and continued teaching throughout the 1960s, but eventually stopped due to her husband's complaints about the smell, but recommenced after his death in 1992. She continued painting until about six years before her own death on 18 February 2002.

Helen generally painted in oils on board and canvas as she found water colours difficult. Her style was naturalistic and landscapes were her favourite subjects, although without a car she struggled to undertake “en plein air” paintings. The inspiration for her landscapes largely came from a folio she created of magazine clippings, catalogues and friends' photos of the Australian Outback and other locations, as the furthest she traveled after her arrival in Melbourne was to Magnetic Island, off the coast at Townsville, Queensland. Because of her increasingly limited mobility, she did do still life work and some portraits, as she found the subjects more manageable.

Helen admired Australian artists such as Hans Heysen, Russell Drysdale, Arthur Streeton, Fredrick McCubbin, and also appreciated Aboriginal art. She loved Australia and its landscape particularly, wattles, evergreen trees, gum trees with their stripping bark, sheep and horses (she rode as a child), the sky, the climate and the light. Despite facing difficulties in her struggle to become an artist, including family opposition and domestic isolation, Helen persevered through the imagery provided by friend's travel photos, clippings from magazines and calendars and her own immediate environment.

Some of these ramekins show examples of her work, there are sprigs of wattle and other Australian wild flowers painted inside the bowls, as well as one with mushrooms and another with just a couple of leaves.

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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.