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.
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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 They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface.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.
I know the ramekin wall -- and the Elischers.my father vin riley used to buy the item for sale at Buckley and Nunns in the fifties/sixties and many Sundays we used to visit Wally's pottery in Sandringham Road. While the suave john was the designer, Wally did the work.
ReplyDeleteTheir best design I think was a water jug for Johnny Walker whiskey, although some of their ramikins -- the curved, leaf shaped ones -- were design beauties as well. Our house was downing in ramekins.
Actually I remember the day Wally first showed my dad the leaf design ramekin.We used to visit the pottery after mass on Sundays (Sacred heart Church is up the hill from the pottery and Wally always offered beer). John was in the background, more or less retired, and living nonetheless with his son in Beaumaris. So we'd come together occasionally if only so that John could kiss my mother's hand!
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the ramekins was that -- with the semi square ones at least -- they had a rough glaze -- and the top round ones, had such a narrow handle that they could easily tip. But the left handed leaf shaped ones were a design break through.
Combine that with a splayd fork/knife/spoon combo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splayd
-- which came out an t the same time and you had entertaining down to a T.
If ramekins had ruled we could have saved ourselves the polluting horror of take away containers and with the splayd, plastic forks!
How I remember the Elischer Pottery factory in Sandringham Road. My grandparents lived next door so I did spend a fair amount of time in there when visiting in school holidays. Great memories from the early/mid 1950's. Daryl
ReplyDelete