Ramekins Full of Chutney Make Nice Gifts
Written: Dec 10 '02 (Updated Dec 10 '02)
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Pros: A versatile piece of cookware. Easy to clean and care for.
Cons: none for me.
The Bottom Line: Get some, you'll have it forever!
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| ed_grover's Full Review: Corningware 7-ounce French White Ramekins |
This should be an interesting switch for me; I’m going to try writing some product reviews for H&G rather than my usual books and magazine pieces. I’m going to try and keep these to a reasonable length while I try to cover all the bases. I‘ve been pre-warned by one of the H&G CLs not to embed recipes in these reviews, so I have included my Mango Chutney at the end of the review if you’d like to have a look at it. How much can one say about a baking dish?
This item seems to come in a set of four, but I started my collection by getting one for 99¢ every time I made a $10 purchase at my local super-duper food store last summer. How could I lose at that price? They had a whole exhibit of French White Corningware at greatly reduced prices. I got my sister a 2-½ quart covered casserole for an extra birthday gift and picked up a ramekin every time I went shopping. Thankfully the promotion lasted a whole month. I now have six for me and another dozen to give away if I choose.
I’ve always liked white serving dishes and tableware; I made sure I got my grandmother’s antique white ironstone. In the casserole department I have four or five pieces of French White Corningware that I use constantly. I find that the Corningware 7- ounce French White Ramekins are perfect for more than the occasional leftovers I nuke in my microwave.
They’re great for a single serving of soup, chili, or even a desert. You can use them for tuna or egg salad, for dips at parties and if you’re into soufflés or baked puddings of any kind; they’re perfect for that, too. Individual servings of almost anything you can imagine can be whipped up in a trice. They can be used to freeze a small portion of food and then go directly to the oven or microwave.
I like the crisp white look and the ridges on the sides are attractive and help to give one a firmer grip when picking up a hot or wet container. Corningware is made of a material that was developed for missile nose cones and can withstand extreme temperatures. Just because it goes on missiles, doesn’t mean it won’t scratch so use wooden or some sort of Teflon cooking utensils. Use some sort of soft-scrub cleansers not the ones you use on the iron fry pans.
Corningware is dishwasher safe. It’s even safe for two-legged dishwashers if they take care not to slam it around or drop it. Dropping is a no-no, as the material will explode rather than shatter. If you’ve ever dropped any by accident, you will know that it can be dangerous, so be careful.
I always set my casseroles on a damp towel when I put them in the sink. I use two oven mitts when lifting things out of the oven and I always put the hot stuff on a wire rack or even those metal things over the burners on the stovetop. Speaking of stoves, this stuff will work for making a quick gravy or sauce in a roaster but I’d be careful there, too. The material isn’t a great conductor of heat.
Being made of a glass-like material, Corningware isn't porous, which makes it relatively easy to clean. You can soak it in soapy water to loosen most baked-on gunk. I use those 3-M plastic scrubbers rather than anything metallic like Brillo pads. If I have a really bad bit of baked on crud, I heat up the oven, turn it off, give the problem spot(s) a spritz with some oven cleaner and stick everything back in the oven for half an hour. Then I wash again as usual and most everything is gone. If not, repeat!
Here's the main URL to look up details about any Corningware product. All you do is click on the type of information you want: there are New Products, Products, Table Trends, a Recipe Box loaded with all kinds of free things to copy. There’s an Expert Answers section with help on FAQs, Warranties, Use & Care and a list of retail locations across the US of A. If you’re getting married, you will find a gift registry but it’s only for heterosexuals.
http://www.corningware.com/products/default.cfm
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Every year I make gifts of food to give to my AA friends. This year everyone’s getting a Corningware 7- ounce French White Ramekin filled with mango chutney. I haven’t figured out how to wrap the gifts yet but maybe some of those stretchy colored plastic things for food that remind me of shower caps would be fun; I’ll just add a sprig of holly with a bow.
When I lived in Fort Lauderdale during the mid- to late-70s, I learned to make mango chutney. There was a huge tree in the back yard and no one used the fruit except me. Ditto for an avocado tree. We had chutney on everything including ice cream. The avocados went into salads and guacamole dip at cocktail time.
Mango Chutney
1 pound (or more) fresh mango – peeled and chunked. If you don’t like mangoes, try green apples or blueberries, which will turn everything purple but the flavor is great.
1 pound fresh apricots – chunked (or use dried apricots and plump them in apple juice).
2 large white, Bermuda or Vidalia onions cut in wedges (eighths).
4 Bell peppers (red & green) seeded with veins removed and cut in medium chunks.
Peeled fresh gingerroot (to taste) cut into matchstick. pieces (julienned).
6 cloves of garlic peeled (cut up if large).
1 cup raisins (brown or white or mixed) plumped in apple juice.
Cayenne pepper to taste or Pepper flakes to taste (or both).
¼ cup dark brown sugar.
½ cup apple cider vinegar.
Apple juice as needed to moisten if it gets too thick.
2 limes and 1 lemon cut up in bite-sized pieces.
About 6 cinnamon sticks (put a piece in each container)
Cloves and allspice to taste (not much, maybe 6 or 8 of each).
Curry powder to taste (about a tablespoon).
A pinch of salt & fresh ground pepper.
In an enameled saucepan with a lid, slowly cook the onions, red and green peppers, sliced ginger, and cloves of garlic in Canola oil for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the brown sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil. Add the fruit and all other ingredients and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. If it seems too thick, thin it with a 1.4 cup of apple juice. Cool and put in jars or crocks. This will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator if it lasts that long. You can also put the chutney in plastic containers and freeze it.
Serve this chutney with any kind of curry dish, roast pork, a baked ham, wild boar or venison. We even used it on vanilla ice cream and frozen yogurt.
© Ed Grover - 2002
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): .99 each
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ed_grover
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Member: Ed Grover
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Reviews written: 332
Trusted by: 400 members
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