When my daughter Anna and I were “volunteered” into demonstrating French food at my grandkids’ middle school French classes, we served baguette plus classic Salade Niçoise, a full-meal salad topped with hard-boiled eggs, tuna, green beans, potato, tomato, romaine, and a special vinaigrette. As he received his serving, one earnest young boy asked, “Can I have some Ranch with that?”
Over the past 30 years, “Ranch dressing” has become by far the best-selling salad topping in U.S. grocery stores. A 2017 food preferences survey found Ranch was the favorite dressing of some 40 percent of Americans, way above any other. In the pre-Ranch days of my youth, salad dressings were French, Italian and Bleu Cheese. For fancier, you went for Russian or Thousand Island. Later, Green Goddess made a several-decades appearance. Now, Ranch reigns.
Classic Ranch dressing is creamy white with tiny green herbal specks, a pleasantly mild acidity, and overtones of garlic, onion, mustard, dill and parsley. The typical (and original) formulation is about half mayonnaise and half buttermilk plus seasonings. There are also now vegan versions.
At our local Kroger recently, I counted 14 different Ranch dressings plus nine Ranch dips — just in the refrigerated produce section near the salad greens. On the regular store shelves were 41 other Ranch dressings, some flavored with chipotle, Siracha, avocado, or even bacon. Plus, there were three types of Ranch dip. Finally, I found eight different dry mixes to make Ranch dressing at home,
Beyond dressing salads, Ranch has also become popular, especially among young people, for dipping snacks like French fries, carrot sticks, and fried chicken wings. Ranch, Cool Ranch, and numerous variations season packaged snack foods ranging from potato chips to corn chips, popcorn, and taco shells.
The phenomenon began in 1949, when an enterprising fellow, Steve Henson, moved from Nebraska to Alaska. There, as a contractor, he made a fortune building houses in the remote Alaskan bush. For visits to his job sites, Henson created a salad dressing that he served with the meals provided to his work crews.
After three boom years in Alaska, at age 35, Henson and his wife “retired” to Santa Barbara County, CA. In 1956, they bought a ranch in San Marcos Pass, renamed it “Hidden Valley Ranch,” and turned it into a resort. For the dining room menu, Henson brought back his salad dressing from his Alaska days. Guests liked it, both on salads and on steak. Many bought some to take home.
Demand built, and Henson introduced a packaged mix so guests could make their own dressing at home. By 1957, his mix was also sold in local stores. The guest ranch closed in the mid-1960s, but Henson’s mail-order business for Ranch dressing prospered. The Hensons established Hidden Valley Food Products, Inc. and enlarged the production facilities. In 1972, the successful business was bought out by Clorox, of which Hidden Valley Foods Company remains a subsidiary. Several reformulations of the product followed, including a shelf-stable bottled dressing.
Numerous competing companies have introduced “ranch style” dressing mixes and bottled dressings. Hidden Valley, which calls its products “The Original Ranch,” perseveres with both bottled dressing and dry mix. And, by the way, monosodium glutamate is the mix’s first-listed ingredient.
Here’s how I make Ranch dressing from scratch. To me, homemade salad dressings are better, as well as fresher and cheaper, than store-bought. I substitute yogurt and a little sour cream for the original buttermilk, which people rarely have at home. I replace the original dried chives and onions with chopped green onion. I continue to use dried dill “weed,” which was in Hidden Valley’s dry mix. Rather than the original mustard powder, I use Dijon mustard. Finally, no MSG!
Tim Dondero, co-owner and Executive Chef of Donderos’ Kitchen, is a culinary enthusiast who has taught international cooking in Atlanta and Athens for years. His blog is timsspecialrecipes.com.
Ranch Dressing
The recipe makes somewhat more than a pint. Store in a screw-capped jar in the refrigerator and shake the jar before using the dressing.
- 1 cup plain yogurt, low-fat
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or brown (not yellow) mustard
- 1 thin green onion, white and green parts, roots removed
- 2 sprigs flat parsley, rinsed
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dry dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
In a large bowl, place the yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, water, and mustard.
On a cutting board, using a chef’s knife, finely mince the green onion and parsley. Put the garlic through a garlic press, or very finely mince it in with the green onion and parsley. Add these to the bowl. Add salt, sugar, dry dill, and black pepper. Mix the dressing thoroughly with a whisk or fork. Hold for at least 10 minutes before using and mix it again.
The dressing can be stored in the refrigerator in a screw-capped jar for up to a week or two.
Use as a salad dressing or a dip for French fries, potato chips, or artichoke hearts. Or (as was done at the original Hidden Valley Ranch) drizzle it on grilled steaks or burgers.
