Ranch Dressing History
Ranch Dressing Was Created In 1949
Ranch is America’s #1 salad dressing and is far and away our favorite salad dressing as a nation. It received 40 percent of the vote in a poll by the Association for Dressings and Sauces. Italian dressing took second place with just 10 percent
- In 1954 ranch dressing was invented at Hidden Valley Ranch, a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, California.
- Ranch dressing has been the best-selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992, overtaking Italian dressing.
- Hidden Valley brand owns the right to ‘the Original Ranch®‘ After decades of trademark lawsuits similar products can be labeled ‘ranch style’ or simply ‘ranch’
- While popular in the United States and Canada, ranch dressing is virtually unknown in most of the world
- Since 1972 Hidden Valley Ranch has been owned by Clorox.
- Ranch dressing was created in 1949 by a plumber-turned-cowboy. While working as a contract plumber in Alaska, Steve Henson started cooking for his coworkers and perfecting his buttermilk dressing recipe. Five years later he moved to California with his wife Gayle and bought a ranch.
- His famous buttermilk dressing soon became a staple at the dinner table of Hidden Valley Ranch and before long the Hensons started selling it to guests and local supermarkets. Over two decades later in 1972, the couple sold their name and recipe to Clorox for $8 million. Not bad for a little buttermilk, mayo, and herbs.
- Doritos made it famous. Stores first sold the dry mix until shelf-stable bottles of the creamy dressing were introduced in 1983. By the time Cool Ranch Doritos hit the grocery scene in 1986, the ranch phenomenon was officially here to stay.
- There’s an entire restaurant devoted to ranch dressing. You may think you’re in love with ranch dressing, but you don’t have anything on the owners of Twisted Ranch in St. Louis, Missouri. Every single item on the menu contains one of their 31 house-made ranch dressings.
- Domino’s started the ranch-pizza combo. Drizzling ranch dressing over your pizza—or dipping it—is a controversial topic, but where did the technique get started? There are different accounts from over the years, but Domino’s started including ranch dressing with their chicken wings in 1994. From there, pizza lovers began dipping their crusts in that heavenly dressing, and the rest is history.
- The Average American Consumes Ranch dressing 15 Times Per Year.
- Hidden Valley Ranch sold $440 million worth of salad dressing in 2015.
- Hidden Valley Ranch wasn’t the first to the ranch game. In Texas, recipes for buttermilk dressing date back as far as 1937. Since buttermilk was more readily accessible on the High Plains than vegetable based fats, cowboys enjoyed creamy buttermilk based dressings for a long time.
- Today’s ranch dressing bears little-to-no resemblance to the original. In the time of its creation, ranch had a few basic ingredients: buttermilk, mayonnaise, spices, and herbs. Wholesome and caloric, but sadly perishable. In the quest to perfect a shelf-stable alternative, Clorox and its competitors Kraft, Ken’s, and Wish-Bone created soybean and canola oil based alternatives. Other fun ingredients include MSG, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, and calcium disodium EDTA among others
Ranch Dressing
Through The Years
1950s: Steve and Gayle Henson create the original recipe for ranch dressing while living on a ranch in Santa Barbara, California.
1954: The Hensons open the Hidden Valley Guest Ranch, where they serve their homemade ranch dressing to guests. They also start selling packets of the dressing's dry mix.
1972: Clorox Company acquires the Hidden Valley Ranch brand and works on developing a bottled version of the dressing for wider distribution.
1983: Ranch dressing becomes the best-selling salad dressing in the United States, surpassing Italian dressing.
Late 20th Century: Ranch dressing gains widespread popularity and becomes a staple in American households, often used as a dip, dressing, and flavoring.
2000s: As health and dietary considerations grow, food manufacturers introduce variations of ranch dressing with reduced fat, calories, and sugars.
Beyond the U.S.: Ranch dressing's popularity spreads internationally, with various countries adopting and adapting the dressing to their tastes.
Homemade and Artisanal Trends: Homemade and artisanal versions of ranch dressing gain popularity as people become more conscious of ingredients and flavors.
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