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 They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface.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, November 16, 2015

Muir, Lindsay Muir




Designer        
Lindsay Muir
Maker
Lindsay Muir
Marks
Stamped “Norfolk Island”
Incised “Muir” in longhand to base
Material
Glazed earthenware
Description
Heavy glazed earthenware bowl with curled “pigtail” handle fixed to top of outer rim.  Matte glaze to body, unglazed flat circular footring
Condition
Very good
Number
No number
Production Date
Late 1980s
Width at rim
132mm
Width at Base
65mm
Depth
42mm
Length (with handle)
160mm
Weight
390gm
Volume
375ml
Acquisition
Purchase
Salvos Store Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
11 Nov 2015.
Rameking Reference Number
MUI 001

This ramekin was made by Lindsay Muir while he was working at the Norfolk Island Pottery.   It is a typical example of a 1980s heavy earthenware ramekin.  A prize-winning artist, Lindsay’s pottery is now very collectable.  Lindsay was born in Stanthorpe, Queensland in 1964.  He majored in ceramics at the University of Southern Queensland, while completing a Diploma of Visual Arts in 1984.  His work has been exhibited in galleries in both Australia and Japan.  After completing his Diploma, Lindsay worked at a number of different potteries, including the Norfolk Pottery.  Others between 1985 and 1991 were the Flaxton Gardens Pottery and Green Frog Pottery. 

Lindsay has said “Working with clay is a way of life and without it I would not be who I am” 

He managed a pottery in Lincolnshire for a year, an area where the Muir family may have come from.  He was working on wheel thrown domestic ware.  He returned to Australia to begin working on the hyper realistic ceramics he now makes.  Hand-building ceramics is his real passion.  This began at the Montville Pottery that ran from 1966 until 1998.  Lindsay worked there in 1985, his wife Karen ran the gallery.  They moved to a new location “Clay Illustrated” at Curramore Road Witta, a short distance from Maleny in Queensland.  Since 1991, he has concentrated on the naturalistic pieces that are so popular today.

He has created naturalistic works and commissions for numerous parks and wildlife organizations and his work has been featured on a number of Australian television programmes.  His works have also been used as illustrations in children's books.  The “Hollow Log Collection” successfully sells his work also.