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 They were originally made of ceramics but have also been made of glass or porcelain, commonly in a round shape with an angled exterior ridged surface.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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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Seaton Grant





Seaton Grant is not recorded in any of the references normally used for pottery and ceramics, but then, the Rameking is not known for using the normal references.  Seaton Grant seems to have had a small output, mainly only dishes and ramekins. Pieces occasionally come up on E-Bay and other Internet sites but go for very little money. There is an example of a "Mickey Mouse" dish. This would have come out following the advent of Disneyland on television in Melbourne in the 1950s.  Most of his pottery is advertized as being either 1950s or 1960s.  It is all 1950s!

 Signature “Seaton Grant” is both incised on some and handwritten in pencil on others. There was an advertisement for homewares by him in Hobart 1n 1951. They are well made and the ceramic, glaze and handles are very similar to those made in the late Diana Pottery stage. (Check their small “wheatsheaf” pattern). Maybe he worked there, maybe not, any suggestions? The “Seaton Grant Potteries Limited” operated from 80 Silverdale Road Eaglemont, Victoria. It was one of those short-lived companies that started after the Second World War. He operated as a sole trader until 1953 when he became a Limited Company. The company ceased trading on the 25th of October 1955. 

There were five partners in the business, all with equal shares (one each)

Geoffrey Seaton Grant
Roland Nicholson Barber
Winifred Blanche Barber
Alfred Blenkiron Elvish (yes really)
Wilfred Gillman Hall (Ditto)


Their last meeting was on the 28th of December 1961 and Seaton Grant Potteries Limited was removed from the list of companies in 1963. Geoffrey is listed as a “manufacturer” on the Electoral Roll. He is later recorded as a “consultant”, living in an affluent northern suburb of Melbourne. .

3 comments:

  1. Now this morning I have been looking at Geoffrey Seaton Grant.
    I think he is alive and kicking !!!
    Ramekins of his I have seen. The surname is Seaton Grant and the Rameking notes five people who were partners in his business in Eaglemont, Victoria at 80 Silverdale Road up until October 1955.
    It might have ended a year earlier .... there was an auction of those premises on Wed 13 Oct 1954.
    But what really rocked me was that an article appeared in the January 22, 2016 Frankston Standard Leader !!!

    http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/police-investigating-car-tampering-act-where-vandals-put-sugar-in-langwarrins-mans-car-engine/news-story/9d5c79fd05f9c6fba35825f3be36ba52

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  2. This is interesting too !

    When 87-year-old Geoffrey Grant’s car stopped suddenly in the middle of the road he never thought it was because someone had deliberately damaged his car.
    The Langwarrin great-grandfather was shocked to discover his Mazda broke down because someone had poured sugar into its engine. .....
    An international sculptor originally supplying ramekins to American soldiers during World War 2, the Seaton Grant artist said he was probably home when the offenders broke into his back garage, which was locked, and attacked his car."

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    Replies
    1. yes is appears it was his family who he no longer has contact with disgusting!!!

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