As decidedly down-market as it may be, ranch dressing is frankly the best. Ranch dressing has held the top spot in America ever since 1992, when it unseated Italian as the nation's most popular dressing. What else has remained #1 in its class for the last 22 years (and counting)? Nothing!
Sure, you find some ranch dressing haters out there in the cold, cruel world. Most of them are actually "creamy food" haters whose negative feelings towards that particular type of condiment spill over to ranch dressing. I get that, I really do. But personally I'm in the same camp as Homer Simpson. I too have been known to clap my hands and exclaim, "Bring me my ranch dressing hose!"
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What is ranch dressing?
Ranch dressing is basically herb-infused, diluted mayonnaise. I know that sounds gross, but we have to face facts. Take some mayonnaise, add flavorings, thin out the texture (usually with either buttermilk, cream, or milk), and you've got yourself ranch dressing.
As a creamy salad dressing, ranch dressing falls into the same category as bleu cheese or Caesar salad dressing, but with a much milder flavor. Ranch's main flavor is herbal and savory, with herbs including parsley, garlic, onion, black pepper, and chives.
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Ranch dressing history: Is there really a Hidden Valley?
Ranch dressing was invented on an actual ranch, a dude ranch named Hidden Valley Ranch near Santa Barbara, CA owned by Steve and Gayle Henson. The Hensons created a signature salad dressing in the early 1950s which became so popular that it was eventually bought out by the Clorox Company in 1972. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing went global, and the world was never the same.
Initially, the only way to get Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing was to buy the packet of seasoning and mix it into mayo or sour cream. This was a hassle for many consumers, and the Clorox Company had to spend a lot of time in the lab in order to create a shelf-stable, pre-mixed dressing.
It's quite a challenge, making a dairy product that can sit on the shelf indefinitely (until opened). Spoiler alert: they did it by adding a ton of wacky chemicals, stabilizers, and preservatives.
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Ranch dressing nutritional information
Health-wise, ranch dressing is pretty indefensible. It's high in fat and sodium, and the pre-bottled versions are filled with artificial flavorings, preservatives, crazy chemicals, and a ton of sugar.
The packets of dry seasoning are slightly better, in that they lack sugar and most of the weirder chemicals. But it still has a ton of either fat (if you make it with regular mayo) or sugar (if you use light mayo).
Ranch dressing may be bad for you, but if it encourages people to eat more vegetables, it can't be all bad, right? Everyone has to weigh the health risks of ranch dressing's fat and sodium, versus the health benefits of eating more vegetables.
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Using ranch dressing
Aside from a topping for salad, ranch dressing's all-purpose herb flavor has made it a popular flavor variety for many salty snacks, including Doritos, pretzels, popcorn, and more.
Ranch dressing works well as a dip for fresh vegetables. Or if you're so inclined, for potato chips, pizza, bread sticks, chicken nuggets, French fries, pork rinds, meatloaf, chicken wings… the list is endless. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
There are a lot of recipes that use ranch dressing, but frankly I am somewhat skeptical of most of them. The only one I have tried was ranch dressing meatloaf, and let me tell you, it is fantastic (though salty).
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Ranch dressing recipes
From a taste perspective, it's well worth the hassle to mix up a batch of ranch dressing using the packets. Remember how I mentioned that Clorox had to add a bunch of chemicals in order to make ranch dressing shelf-stable? Unsurprisingly, those chemicals do not taste very good.
However, those same chemicals are not necessary for the seasoning packets. Once you have tried the "from packet" version, you won't want to go back to the pre-bottled stuff.
Want to try making ranch dressing from scratch? It's easy enough, although there is a lot of chopping involved (if you use fresh ingredients) or buying spices (which can get expensive). Here are a few basic recipes:
- Allrecipes: Ranch Dressing II
- The Pioneer Woman's ranch dressing recipe
- The Kitchn's Essential Ranch Dressing
Main image courtesy Flickr/I Believe I Can Fry
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