The fact that the recipe was sold to Clorox in 1972 pretty much sums up how I feel about Ranch.
It’s also sad that Europeans, who have traditionally laughed at the idea of iceberg lettuce topped with Ranch being called a salad, now buy it in their markets. At least they properly label it.
2
Ranch dressing shows one very small way how republicans have destroyed anything good about this so-called country.
6
What we have forgotten about food is that the simpler it is the better it tastes.
1
God, but please don't order Ranch dressing w/Buffalo Chicken Wings... It's Blue Cheese all the way!
4
Why does pizza need help? Ranch is disgusting.
8
Thanks, now I'm hungry!
1
Lexington NC is the most ranch eating place in the world..... who knew this tiny town was so culinarily forward lol!
A wonderful article and an excellent proof of what serendipity can achieve under right circumstances. I love to dip potato chips or Doritos into a ranch dressing. It is much better than ketchup and I wonder why ranch dressing has not replaced ketchup in the national food of hamburgers-with-ketchup. Another thought comes to my mind: perhaps Ms. Moskin could give her readers a good advice on making a SLIGHTLY-ALCOHOLIC ranch dressing, for a general mood-improvement at the table.
25
@Tuvw Xyz
What do you think of the photo of Katianna Hong and her tattoos?
6
@ JK Philadelphia
I replied to your question a few days ago, but my reply might have been lost in cyberspace. Am trying again.
Briefly, in my opinion, Katianna Hong' s tattoos are wholly inappropriate for a restaurant worker.
Ranch dressing and Jif on cinnamon raisin bread, toasted.
Ranch dressing on wagon wheel macaroni with Cheez Wiz.
Marshmallow Fluff and Ranch dressing on toaster pizza.
Grilled Spam with Ranch dressing, Cool Whip Lite, and a maraschino cherry.
Pumpkin spice latte with Ranch dressing.
Herbal Essence shampoo with Ranch dressing.
Premium gasoline with Ranch dressing.
Ranch dressing and Rust-oleum primer.
There is no end to the things that Ranch dressing improves.
4
I like a little Ranch drizzled on my taco's lettuce and tomato.
The packet of dried Ranch shown in the article makes two cups, and costs almost as much as buying 2 cups made up. Instead one can find a somewhat larger packet that makes up a full gallon, selling for not much more. The main difference seems to be the smaller packet calls for adding plain milk and mayonnaise. The gallon size calls for buttermilk and mayonnaise. Checking ingredients, the smaller packet is mostly buttermilk powder, the gallon size is just the herbs and spices, plus a little corn starch and preservative. I use the gallon size, and instead of buttermilk, which I don't routinely stock, I make an equivalent by mixing plain yogurt into regular milk.
7
I vividly recall trying ranch for the first time circa 1982. It only came in packets that you mixed yourself. It compared well with most bottled dressings of the era , and was good on a baked potato. I could never use it all before it went bad, and I stopped buying the packets.
I still get a strange hankering for ranch once or twice a year. Against my better judgement, I pick up a bottle and use it once or twice. A few months later, I find it stale and expired in the back of the fridge.
It is extremely perplexing that people are now putting it on pizza, as if pizza needed help to provide you with adequate sustenance. Soon it will be found on cheesecake.
Maybe the Senate can address this horrible ranch addiction sweeping the country. It's about time they did something for the average person.
1
This piece, intended to be light-hearted, makes me very sad.
"It is a routine dip for chicken wings, baby carrots, French fries, tortilla chips and mozzarella sticks. It is incorporated into American classics like macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, potato salad and Thanksgiving-turkey stuffing. And it is drizzled over tacos, Tater Tots, casseroles and — perhaps most controversially — pizza."
I think of the tremendous suffering that will be the fate of millions of Americans who eat this diet.
Their chests will be cut open and their arteries reamed out in open-heart surgery that will, according to extensive research, cause brain damage in 25% to 50% of them.
They will be debilitated by strokes caused by clogged arteries.
Millions will experience dementia because, after all, the brain is served by arteries not immune to plaque from a high-fat diet.
They will develop diabetes with all its painful and potentially life-changing complications.
To my fellow human beings who want to live into their elder years healthy enough to play with their grandchildren and enjoy life (and who among us doesn't long for that?), I make a plea.
Go to the web site NutritionFacts.org and learn the scientifically-proven connection between nutrition and disease.
For those who contend that research shows all kinds of things, one study often canceling the results of another, I refer you to Big Tobacco which funded research that caused doubt as to whether smoking was harmful for decades.
7
@Samsara
Like all things in life it is a matter of balance - not too much - just enough to enjoy. Such a dreary forecast for eating America’s dressing.
4
Thank you for this dressing history. In 1965 a laundry service on Milpas St in Santa Barbara where my mother used to take my little brothers cloth diapers sold Ranch Dressing packets. An odd combination and I always wondered how that came to be and figured that it must have originated somewhere around here. It was not available in stores at that time. Now I know. Cool.
5
Please explain to me why, when I already have a subscription, i have to sign up again for access to the nytimes food recipes. It infuriates me. There are many ranch dressings online so I don't need yours.
32
I like Ranch dressing and chives on a baked potato with a dash of Tabasco.
3
There was a well known Santa Barbara food Broker, I believe his name was George Gergich or Gerlich, who helped make Ranch a household name. HE helped me selling Indian Jewelry in the middle 70's by taking me along on his So. Cal route to pich my wares. He told me the story of the deal for Ranch dressing. He advised the owners NOT to get too greedy; his part of the deal helped him buy a very nice home in the Santa Barbara foothills. HIS WISE ADVICE WAS A VERSION OF a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Holding out for too much money CAN RUIN ANY DEAL. So, I learned much from George, he helped me make some good financial deals and I will NEVER FORGET THIS kind, wise man. Cold Springs Tavern has a Sunday Bar-b-que that used to attract alot of famous musicians who would jam outside while everyone hung out and ate all afternoon. I played one Sunday and one of the musicians that day was Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. Santa Barbara is always attracting amazing musicians in small or "unknown" (except to locals) venues. GREAT THINGS happen in Santa Barbara on so many levels it's a WONDERFUL place and I was lucky enough to grow up there. I'd have never made it as far ANYWHERE else. Mentors like George, Charles Shultz, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt ALL CAME in my life DUE TO LOCATION! If you haven't been there yet, DO NOT MISS out on the chance!
3
America’s favorite salad dressing is in any grocery store chain right there in the salad dressing aisle. There’s Ranch in there along with about a dozen or so assorted flavors of bottled garbage labeled ‘dressing’.
5
I must be in the minority with this. Ranch is not good. It’s Blue Cheese’s crass cousin. As subtle as a bullhorn. It was a positive change from the ubiquitous thousand island dressing of my childhood when it became popular in the eighties, but that’s not a ringing endorsement. The lesser of two horribles.
12
Ranch seems to me to be way over used; it's not a HEALTH food by any means. i did know the food broker who MADE IT INTO THE BIG TIME OF FOODS. He was a very wise man who helped the original owners to make a great financial deal and not have some other company knock it off and sell it to Kraft of some other big food company. His name was George Gergich or Gerlich, it's been almost 50 years & i forget. The reason I responded was to tell you that a GREAT SALESMAN can make a so-so product into a HOUSHOLD NAME. Hard work is sometimes lost without THE RIGHT PAYDAY to collect. George was great at both hard work and sound business judgement; don't get GREEDY. The greedy always lose out due to poor judgement; the lazy always lose to those who aren't. The best businessperson is neither lazy or greedy and can make a product into a home run! George bought a lovely house in the Santa Barbara foothills and was a legend in So. Cal food industry. I was lucky to be in Santa Barbara with ambition and it was a real boost to know people like George!
I make cheese and onion enchiladas (just about equal parts; my Texas mother's approach), top with shredded lettuce, and top the lettuce with ranch dressing.
I also make my enchilada sauce from spaghetti sauce tarted up with sriracha sauce. Cheaper and lacks the aftertaste of canned enchilada sauce.
Thrown out just to irritate various culinary snobs.
16
The author fails to mention that most Ranch dressing take an unfair advantage by adding MSG (MonoSodium Glutamate).
6
It’s almost 1 am and I’m walking to the store to buy cool ranch doritos and ranch dressing. How did I never think of that. Wow this was such a good article and I don’t even like ranch that much. The truth matters......whether it’s about the orange man in the White House or the orange chips in the blue bag, it matters.
7
We poured ten cases of Ranch dressing (about 240 bottles) into the concrete mix used to create the foundation and walls of our new, fire resistant, communal house (the roof is constructed from sheet-metal and galvanized aluminum trusses)! The ranch dressing concrete admixture made a very smooth, glossy, finish on the surfaces of the set and cured concrete foundation and walls. A sniff of the foundation and walls still, months after completion of the structure, reveals some residual fragrances emitted by the dressing's ingredients.
The four of us can honestly declare, upon returning to our humble abode after a trip, that we have returned to our Ranch House!
8
@Drs. Peo and Mandrill Balanitis, and Srs. Basha and Wewe Kutomba
Comedy is hard.
2
Buffalo chicken wings as invented at the Anchor Bar (on Main Street) in 1960's Buffalo have only and ever been paired with blue cheese dressing. Wings with ranch dressing are an abomination.
13
@Dalgliesh Nah. Wings and ranch is the only way to fly.
1
Wonderful article! So much fun to learn through J M’s skillful writing the story of how Ranch Dressing swept the country and continues to evolve. While I’d never have dreamed of trying ranch dressing on pizza or lots of the other innovative uses that have become so wildly popular, I’m fascinated. Who’d knew? Above all it’s gratifying to know that Steve Henson made a 1972 sized fortune from the sale of his creation. Thank you.
4
Hidden Valley Ranch contains MSG, an ingredient that some claim is addictive. One wonders if MSG was added from the beginning, and if this is partly why its popularity exploded.
2
By far the best dressing I ever tasted is the creamy herbal from Le Café.
IMHO, ranch is a good dip, but not a very good salad dressing. I can think of a broad spectrum of foods I'd love to dip in ranch. (And for the really hot wings, it helps cut down the pain.) But it's a little inelegant for a salad.
5
Homemade ranch dressing on a fresh salad is delicious.
5
We need to talk about what is the "good" ranch dressing. You have to start from the packet, and it has to be Hidden Valley. The bottled stuff is not the same. It can be hard to find--most places have some off brand that doesn't taste like Hidden Valley. When I do come across the good stuff...lookout.
10
So satisfying to take a slice of that hand crafted , local ingredient , artisan , wood fired pizza and drench it in ranch - yum!!!
3
Thank God I live in Italy and I never have to see abominations of pizza covered in Ranch dressing or pepperoni or pineapple!!! Or read about recipes that someone created just by opening the fridge and throwing all the leftovers on the pizza or on a pasta dish. PS: There is no Italian dressing in Italy...just olio extra vergine d'oliva and aceto balsamico di Modena...Geeze!
22
@Anne ....Well, it's no my "thing" either, but - I just don't eat it ...
Now, pizza with Roquefort dressing? THAT sounds promising to me! :p
2
@Anne I agree except I do love pepperoni baked to a crisp on pizza. (Sorry, even in a second generation Italian American family, that's what we were raised on.) Never, ever pineapple, ham, etc. or ranch dressing. Was totally shocked when I saw that, and have never eaten it that way.
I have always disliked the cloying, bottled "Italian" dressing. Growing up, salads in our family were always tossed with a blend of some type of oil and vinegar. When we were poor, it was it was apple cider vinegar and veg oil, but it still kept the salad tasting light and fresh. Salads are now dressed with balsamic and olive oil, sometimes topped with a crumbled Gorgonzola.
The rest of this comment may be anathema in Italy, but my favorite pizza is my homemade, the crust partially baked with a brush of olive oil and Fontina cheese. It's then topped with pepperoni (only lightly) with baby bella mushrooms, marinated artichokes, red onion, pepperoncini, Greek olives and more Fontina cheese, then back into the oven to finish baking.
Really enjoy having the salad and pizza served on the same plate so the crust absorbs some of the oil and vinegar. Delicious!
1
@Anne
The greatest pizza I ever had was in Rome.......I crave white pizza with a few simple items.....
Homemade ranch dressing, while pretty good on a fresh chopped salad... is an abomination on pizza.
Red sauce with pineapple is gross.... however I once merged dry Canadian bacon with pineapple, fresh basil, four cheeses, herbs and a touch of olive oil on a pizza stone at 500 degrees.... and a guest said it reminded him of white pizza in Italy....save for the pineapple.
For those of you who want a white pizza with flavor, using a small shake of Paul Prudhomme's Pizza Magic herbs on a thin coat of extra virgin olive oil does wonders.
Guys, chiming in only to say that you hate Ranch dressing isn't interesting, helpful, or edifying for anybody. And blaming Ranch dressing for obesity is just plain stupid. Please critique the article on its merits. If you're not going to do that, pack up your balsamic and Gorgonzola and take a hike. Yeesh.
56
Agreed. I don't eat meat, but I manage to restrain myself when recipes with meat are discussed. Who cares that some people don't like ranch?
12
Chicken with Ranch Dressing tastes like Ranch Dressing, Pizza with Ranch Dressing tastes like Ranch Dressing, French Fries with Ranch Dressing taste like Ranch Dressing. Anything dipped into any dressing loses its flavor and tastes like that dressing. No wonder why we are not famous for our "sophisticated" palate. Combinations of ingredients and flavors are great, as long as they enhance each other.
5
@Paolo M. I tend to agree with you on this. One note though. It may be that Ranch Dressing works the same way on dry tasteless chicken wings as steak sauce or ketchup does on home-grilled New York Strips, burned to a crisp on a Weber. It certainly does not "enhance" the cuisine, but it does make it more tolerable when trying to chew and swallow bad grub. If a quality chicken wing or steak is cooked to juicy perfection, why add anything at all?
Love this piece, but we were slathering ranch dressing on pizza way back in the early 80s at Dion's Pizza in Albuquerque, NM. there was only one location back then, now there are 23. The ranch dressing went with one of their salads. We just skipped the salad and doused our pizza with their delicious homemade ranch dressing. We also put Hatch Green chile on pizza, but I digress.
I don't know where it started, but it definitely didn't start in the 90s. Hate to have Dominoes pizza get credit where it isn't due.
Great article and now I am starving!
12
@shelley Dion's ranch dressing is the best! And I too remember putting ranch on pizza in the 80s in Albuquerque. Domino's had nothing to do with it.
1
I've never been a fan of any salad dressing, mostly because it masks the real taste of the food its on, but the occasional excellent dressing worked for me, never ranch. I realized the craze for ranch existed and tried it and liked it but would never just add all that extra fat to my diet. I'm lucky that I prefer most of my food without anything more than a light sprinkling of salt/pepper and light (dry) seasoning. Also, with the e coli scares I no longer eat salads. Just because something tastes good doesn't mean it's good to have. I think the addition of ranch on everything is an unwise addition of extra calories people can do without.
1
This may need fact checking, perhaps by some Institute of Condiments, but it is my understanding the dominate condiment in the United States was ketchup up until the 70's, which was supplanted by salsa throughout the 8o's, and that both were left way behind by the popularity of Ranch dressing on and in everything ever since the 90's.
2
My siblings and I went "off" ranch at some point in the late 90s or so, deeming it too commonplace as a dip or dressing for any family gatherings or holidays feasts.
Fast forward a few years later when my mother was trying out some of Ina Garten's recipes (The Barefoot Contessa). That version of ranch was utterly marvelous, especially since it was all fresh ingredients, chopped and blended masterfully in the food processor. Needless to say, it came back into vogue for us; I think unless you have a taste for the bottled variety, home-made makes all the difference!
5
Ranch is the key to this bit of Texas invention: 1 box saltines + 1 ranch packet + paprika, cayenne, chili powder, a little powdered garlic + 1 or so cups oil. I use avocado oil to keep it classy. Toss together in a bag, let sit an hour if you can, then watch folks lose their minds and eat the whole lot. Magic!
4
I went through a Ranch phase from about 8-18 where I put it on pretty much everything savory. I still like it, but my go to flavors for salads are high quality ingredients blue cheese or Italian dressing coupled with some heat from some fresh or dried peppers. I do think ranch on a baked potato or a dip for uncooked broccoli and carrots, or pizza is where it shines the most.
1
Would love to see the Venn diagram of people who love ranch, hate ketchup; people who love ketchup, hate ranch; people who love both; people who hate both. I can't help but think that in all of the comments from people shuddering over the use of ranch dressing are a lot of ketchup lovers. (Says she who hates ketchup and is so-so about ranch).
9
"As a young republic, our nation embraced the dressings of many lands: Italian, French, Russian and the magical Thousand Islands. But with the creation — and inexorable rise — of ranch, we have forged the one true American dressing."
Interesting lead in when one considers that Italian, French, and Russian dressing cannot be found in Italy, France or Russia. They exist only in America. Aren't those other dressings uniquely American despite their names? Can anyone explain to me why French dressing is neon orange?
9
Enjoyed the article though not a fan of the dressing.
In contrast to a dressing that is ubiquitous I thought a story about regional salad dressings might be interesting. In St. Louis we have a delicious one called Mayfair.
4
Preferably Hellman's?
2
35% of people obese. High blood pressure. Diabetes. Heart disease. Who cares? This stuff sells!
2
Caesar dressing, creamy? Perish the thought - perhaps the bottled abomination but not the real stuff, which utilizes an anchovy and really needs to be made in the salad bowl before assembling the salad. And no mention of tzatziki? A good tzatziki puts ranch to shame.
Amusing article, though.
7
I cannot stand ranch dressing. That is all.
7
Ranch dressing is the most vile food invention there ever was. Closely followed by fettuccine alfredo.
2
"Ranch" dressing? Ugh! Is it what one should wear when visiting a ranch? Whatever happened to just oil and vinegar?
2
Nothing happened to oil and vinegar, why do you ask?
1
Don't mean to be a downer but ranch dressing is full of fat and calories. It contributes to the obesity epidemic in the US. Ranch on pizza? No wonder everyone's fat in this country.
4
Visited my son in Minneapolis last weekend. We were laughing about eating Ranch on pizza, tater tots and wings and just about everything else. He told me in MSP they call it Minnesota Catsup! Coincidence NYT article appears this week.
4
@James C You son and his friends call it Minnesota Catsup - or Ketchup as we say in Minnesota.
1
This great nation really is divided, pumpkin spice notwithstanding. On Twitter yesterday, a woman somewhat jokingly unfollowed Sam Sifton solely because he passed along this article. Sheesh. One person's ranch dressing is another person's poison, I guess.
There's something about ranch and cucumbers that I just love. And you can't make a proper Mississippi roast without a packet of ranch mix.
But we love Western dressing, too. It's (now) a WishBone product that doesn't seem to be available in the Pacific Northwest, so we import it from Illinois; my Chicago son loves me soooo much that he pays the fee for checked baggage in order bring it here.
In my refrigerator door right now, there's ranch, Italian, Western, raspberry vinaigrette, Thousand Island, some leftover citrus vinaigrette from a Bon Appetit recipe, leftover ketchup and mayonnaise mix, and a soy-honey-mustard thing I concocted and should probably throw out. We should all get along as well as these bottles do.
11
I'm not a foodie and I like to eat basic, simple food, but ranch dressing just turns my stomach. Even the smell is enough to make me retch. I just don't get it!
6
Ah, America: the home of culinary excellence! What's the next article--a salute to American cheese?
9
@KS There are plenty of homages to American cheese--by foodies, no less--out there already. Like this.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/07/whats-really-in-american-cheese.html
2
Awesome article!
1
Ranch dressing and Wonder bread. Great examples of the most foul aspects of American cuisine. No one else but us would ever dream of consuming this dreck, yet we love it. Kinda like American football.
Disgusting.
12
What a great first sentence!
2
Ranch dressing is an abomination. It's one of the many things wrong with America today.
5
Everything wrong with food in America starts with this-ranch dressing. Congrats, you've surpassed ketchup while wearing beige khakis.
8
@ Joseph Île de France
You will allow me a spelling correction of Île ? :--))
As to your main point, I always thought that the root of Evil in American food (avoiding intentionally the word cuisine) are haburgers-with-ketchup and tasteless vegetables, eaten with hands.
Barf - Is this an upgrade to drowning food in ketchup or sloshing frenchs mustard and ketchup together for another disgusting treat ? This is munchie food, probably "washed" down with a PBR. The nice photo of pizza with an artistic drizzle does not deter from the its disgusting origins - Domino's.
8
So surprised to see the Alaska connection in this story. In 1997, I took a sabbatical from my job as a magazine editor to cook at a fishing lodge on the Yentna River in Alaska. We fed the inn's guests, and about 15 fishing guides each day. From the staff room just off the kitchen, the guides would gather for big platters of halibut, pasta, salad, French bread. But no matter what we served, we could hear the sound of large industrial-size bottles of Ranch dressing being squeezed over it all. I remember the chefs (one visiting from Zuni Cafe in San Francisco) shutter in amazement and disgust at this indiscriminant baptism. Perhaps they should have just embraced the inevitable.
6
I won't use Ranch or keep it in our house. It is gummy and icky. I prefer real dressings: italian, bleu cheese, green goddess, and any vinaigrette. Come on, people, make it yourself, it's not that hard. The only possible concession would be the packet of ranch made with real buttermilk.
2
I like ranch but I don't get why it is put on everything. It goes nowhere near my pizza, mozzarella sticks needs marinara, and the sauces that are already on ribs and wings are good enough.
3
Umm, isn't the sauce on wings ranch dressing?
@jmhjacobs No, it's a mixture of Frank's Red Hot and butter. The condiment it's served with is bleu cheese. Ranch is for people who won't eat bleu cheese. Their loss.
I'm so thankful for the comments section. I've learned many valuable lessons here. Today I learned to never dine with people named Jan if dressing is going to be served. Viva La Ranch!
12
I loathe ranch dressing. Consequently, my favorite line about it (although how many "lines" about ranch dressing are there, really?) is by Jim Gaffigan: "You know the ingredients of ranch dressing? Buttermilk and sadness."
12
I have carried many a bottle over the Atlantic to my daughter, who now lives in London.
6
Me too!!! In England, "Dressing" as Americans know it, is hard to find AND expensive if you do find it. TSA has opened and hand inspected our family's luggage numerous times, only to laugh at the number of bottles of barbecue sauce and Ranch dressing carefully encased in plastic bags and soft clothes.
2
If there's one guy you would think would never touch Ranch it's me. A first generation Italian American from an old, Northeastern big city Italian neighborhood. My parents wouldn't have mayonnaise or mustard or any salad dressing except olive oil & wine vinegar. I didn't care much for Ranch (or any "salad dressing" on the supermarket shelf) BUT then I discovered in the refrigerated area next to the produce section "Marzetti Avocado Ranch" Holy cow! It's organic, it's fresh, it uses extra virgin olive oil, real dairy, no artificial anything & must therefore be constantly refrigerated. As I take abuse from my family for using an "American Salad Dressing" I point to the name "Marzetti" in a futile attempt to avoid being seen as a renegade who has run off the reservation. I love it especially with a big salad with every kind of raw vegetable and salad greens and(yes I know this is a sacrilege) BACON !
35
Chiming in from Buffalo, NY (home of the Buffalo wing, or as we call them - wings) and to use ranch dressing to dip your wings instead of blue cheese is HIGHLY frowned upon, and never to be done. Try it next time if possible! You won't be disappointed.
11
@Matt L This! Buffalo wings are the reason I'm a lover of bleu cheese, and not just the dressing, either. If wings are served with ranch, I pass.
Ranch....it’s what people with limited palates use to make everything taste familiar. It seems similar to the can of cream of mushroom soup that has dominated recipes since the 60s.
35
@Jan, Just like the Japanese spreading mayo on absolutely everything, including pizza, and using it, as is, as a dip for vegetables. The only thing one tastes is the "dressing".
I'm a closet ranch-dressing lover and I say this as a foodie because despite what this article claims about some higher end chefs embracing it, I'd say in general this condiment is generally considered an abomination, although I can't quite determine why. Because its loved by the masses, including those especially of the lower class? This is a nice article though. It's refreshing to hear about America's triumphs amidst all the negativity.
20
@Conscientious Eater, it's the Andrew Wyeth of salad dressings - hated for being loved. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/wyeth-full-film/10620/
5
@Conscientious Eater
Thank you for this comment. So many people with disdainful comments on such a lighthearted and fun article.
I love fine cuisine too, but there i nothing wrong with a little Ranch for those fried foods once in awhile!
6
So that's why Walmart has 500 different kinds of ranch dressing and hardly any alternatives. This is a fairly recent development!
2
Yuk. In our home, we prefer a variety of aged balsamic vinegars and olive oil atop fresh herbs.
Vastly better for health, too.
7
@Jean Don't yuck other people's yum.
17
Never could see the ranch attraction until I was temping at a title company in SoCal in the late '90s. Staff there would order pizza, add ranch, and then sprinkle Tapatio hot sauce on top of the ranch. Haven't had it since then but it sure was tasty.
Nowadays I plead guilty to making the Hidden Valley dry mix for my spouse and occasionally licking the whisk.
5
This missed the best use of ranch -- combine it with a stick of butter, a packet of hidden valley dry ranch mix, and a packet of Mccormick au jus dry mix, put it all on top of a roast, cover it, and cook it for 2 hours, num num!
6
My first intro to Ranch Dressing was in the 70s, when I was living overseas and traveling to the US. Some friends asked me to bring back some envelopes of HV Ranch Dressing. I was from Canada and had never heard of it. I did find some and was able to try it on my return. After years of classic vinaigrettes, it blew my mind! After several more years, though, my tastes changed again and I tended more toward balsamic and other non-creamy dressings. Yet more recently I find myself with several envelopes of the classic HV "powder" (MSG and all!) in my pantry just for the occasional hit on vegetables and salads. Have given up pizza, but who knows what my food future holds!
12
My first intro to Ranch Dressing was in the 70s, when I was living overseas and traveling to the US. Some friends asked me to bring back some envelopes of HV Ranch Dressing. I was from Canada and had never heard of it. I did find some and was able to try it on my return. After years of classic vinaigrettes, it blew my mind! After several more years, though, my tastes changed again and I tended more toward balsamic and other non-creamy dressings. Yet more recently I find myself with several envelopes of the classic HV "powder" (MSG and all!) in my pantry just for the occasional hit on vegetables and salads. Have given up pizza, but who knows what the food future holds for me!
1
Dear Ms. Moskin,
many years I have read your work. Again, you give us grace and caliber. Kudos, whether we care for Ranch or not (I do care for its subtlety ). Your writing is consummate, thank you. It comes from your high degree of soul.
Wolfer de Spaulding
Pena Blanca, NM
16
@The tune without the words Subtle? Ranch?
The best is homemade followed by the HV dry powder packet that you mix with your own mayo/buttermilk/sour cream. Nothing beats it.
7
Homemade ranch with my grown herbs is fabulous! Sure beats store bought.
3
Ranch dressing is just the beginning of what is so very wrong with this nation's eating habits.
76
My wife and I were enjoying Blues and Barbeque at the Brevard School of Music's outdoor venue. Being Texans we love barbeque, especially when cooked in a way that it stands on its own without the need for sauce, and the pork ribs being served were some of the best. Then to our amazement we watched the lady in the seat in front of us pick up a rib and dip it in ranch dressing! A sign of the Apocalypse!
13
Missing the forest for the trees. Ranch is indeed creamy, herbaceous, cool, etc. But first and foremost, it's an MSG delivery system and that's a big part of the secret of it's appeal. We like MSG, but don't like to think we like or eat it. So, we frequent Chinese restaurants that prominently claim not to use it. But when it's tucked away in a common condiment, we eat it up.
21
Take out the MSG and it's various derivatives and see who still likes it.
19
If someone puts Ranch on pizza in my presence, I will forever mark them as a food criminal. Stop the madness!
56
All due respect to those who enjoy ranch and most of my family does, I'll pass thanks. I'll admit too that I'am lazy at times, thus keep a full assortment of Wish Bone's on hand minus the ranch.
2
Ugh. Sorry America. Ranch=Rank
23
As Ed said, it does have a “big jolt of MSG”. And it is no fun you are lactose intolerant. No surprise that Hidden Valley Ranch was bought by Chlorox, one of the largest consumer chemical companies. They have a large supply of the powders that go into this artificial concoction.
6
I live in Santa Barbara, but moved here from Texas, and there is a definite local pride in "ranch" being a Santa Barbara invention. What is missing from the article, however, is the connection between "ranch" as an idea and and a place--the connection to the rustic, the land, wrangling animals, etc. That is part of why I think "ranch" is so popular in places like Texas--not only the penchant for unhealthful eating--but the connection to "ranch" as a stand-in for a lifestyle, or a nostalgia for the rustic. (Something whole restaurants play on--like Cracker Barrel--also popular throughout the South).
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@JS: You said it----nostalgia. My first remembrance was seeing it in the 1970s in the packets at the grocery store. I realized that this was the hybrid way---easier than making it totally from scratch yet still more fresh than whatever had been sitting on the shelf for a while.
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Awesome read. I like the introduction of recipe- creaminess, herbaciousness, allium, punch of pepper. I can almost taste the dressing. I owe my eating carrot, tomatoes, celery and cucumber to ranch dressing. Instead of sour cream, mixing the seasoning in plain yogurt offers a healthy substitute. If seasoning is not available, I take garlicky yogurt based dip and add some parsley and thyme in it. I need to get hold of dill. I was wondering what was missing in my home recipe.
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In Afghanistan we ate, or drank, a mix of minced cucumber buttermilk, or sometimes yogurt, crushed garlic and dill or mint. And, of course, there is the garlic and yogurt sauce spread over rice dishes or as a marinade on kebabs. I always thought of Ranch dressing as an Americanized version a bit milder in flavor.
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@Parwana Except what you're describing sounds tasty - something ranch most definitely is not.
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@Parwana Sounds like Tzatziki!
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@Parwana You're thinking of Maast-o Khiar https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/59143/persian-cucumber-yogurt-maast-o-...
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The Thousand Islands are as American as apple pie, as is Thousand Island dressing. It was invented at the Thousand Island Club on the St. Lawrence River.
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@Carol Parks The other theory was that it was invented by Sophie Lalonde, a Thousand Islands fishing guide's wife.
"It is a routine dip for chicken wings..."
Goodnessgraciousme! While ranch dressing is undoubtedly applied to chicken wings here and there by the ignorant, such a transgression will elicit deserved derision from anyone who knows the third thing about wings. I.e., anyone from Western NY.
Blue cheese dressing is the ONLY acceptable salve for burning wings.
Why not put ketchup on a Chicago hotdog, or chocolate in a pecan pie??
Nevertheless, a fine dressing...
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Loved this article. Can’t wait to read Ms. Moskin’s sequel, “Green Goddess.”
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No one mentioned that it has a big jolt of MSG!
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@ED
and MSG is harmless. That is very well known by now, check it out for yourself.
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I never thought I'd read a 2000-word story on ranch dressing to the end, but this was fascinating. Chicken wings with a ranch powder dry rub is one of the most popular items at our local pub--served with ranch dressing, of course.
One quibble: Traditional Alfredo sauce does not include garlic, no matter what Olive Garden thinks.
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The French sauce is nowhere to be found in France, the Italian sauce is nowhere to be found in Italy, the Russian sauce is nowhere to be found in Russia, but they're rejected in US for the exact same reason than the Cretan diet, they sound like something invented by Europeans.
And please stop with the so-called baby carrots, they are nothing else than peeled full-grown carrots sold at a prohibitive price.
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Hate to put a damper on the love of all things ranch, but being able to remember when ranch became all the rage, and loving the flavor, the change, for me it's "Been there, done that, tired of it long ago".
I rarely buy it except occasionally for chips and raw veg (and by buy it, I mean the seasoning packet and a tub of sour cream). From the shelf stable bottle, never, ever, ever.
For me it still is and always will be:
On buffalo wings: Bleu cheese.
On salad: Vinaigrette or bleu cheese.
On fries: Just salt, sometimes ketchup, usually with a dash of Frank's. At a restaurant, honey mustard.
On chips: Sometimes or my childhood favorite, French onion, depending on mood.
On pizza: Oh, heck no! (insert stronger expletive.)
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Try ranch with some prepared horseradish mixed in. It is delightful on a burger with fries.
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Egads, I must be the only person that doesn't care for ranch dressing. Cilantro is up there as well. Our local grocer, HEB, has a spicy Italian that is my go to salad dressing and marinade.
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Just delightful. Many thanks for great read. Sometimes a good story stand all by itself....
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Great story! Wishbone Italian dressing is another interesting birther story having been invented at the Wishbone restaurant in Kansas City in 1948
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I cannot wait to read Ms. Reisner's "Ranch" cookbook! It looks amazing!
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Too bad as a digital subscriber, I can no longer get to most of the recipes I have saved over the last few years -- like the ones linked to at the end of this otherwise fantastic article.
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@Leslie Parsley
I agree; at least, as a long time subscriber to Cooking, let us have access to the recipes we have saved.
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It's impossible to buy prepared 1000 island dressing out here in the wilds of PA. Any idea why?
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@Molly K. Because it's easier, better, & tastier to make at home!
1 cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons pickle relish
4 teaspoons diced red onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons white vinegar
salt to taste
Tastes much better than store bought!
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@W. J. Garvy- don't forget the worchestier sauce!
Out of nostalgia, I make a version of Ranch for friends and family: plant-based with fresh herbs.
They think it's indulgent but, shh, the cashews and soy yogurt minus cholesterol is good for you!
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I've actually been to the Hidden Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara, just down San Marcos Pass from one of my best friends. Owned by a friend of his, and in a dilapidated state.
I'm a ranch head, like a chili head. First introduction was at a food court in a Detroit suburb. Tossed salad where you choose from a plethora of ingredients. First time I cared for crudites like raw broccoli and cauliflower without them being smothered in cheese sauce. Ranch is like crack. And the stuff in a jar at the supermarket has always been a lousy imitator of the real homemade stuff. Ditto for restaurants, I always ask if it comes in a huge container from a supplier or whether they make it themselves.
Toum doesn't belong in the comparisons. The base is olive oil, nothing else to cut down on the sharpness of the garlic. Nothing "creamy" about it at all, that's just an appearance from the trickiest aspect of making it, the emulsification process. It's only for folks who have a high threshold for that sharp garlic kick.
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