Ranch Dressing anyone?
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suziecue25
Posts: 289 Member
Why is Ranch Dressing used so much in the USA? All I ever see mentioned on here is Ranch......I've never tried it although it is available in UK [along with numerous other dressings]. Is it like garlic mayonnaise? Is it addictive?
My favourite homemade salad dressing is .......white wine vinegar/honey/wholegrain mustard.....
what's your favourite salad dressing?
My favourite homemade salad dressing is .......white wine vinegar/honey/wholegrain mustard.....
what's your favourite salad dressing?
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Replies
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Lol, I'm American, but my husband is South African and he regularly makes fun of us for being obsessed with Ranch. And we are. It completely masks the taste of the vegetables. So, if you don't like veg, it's a good way to eat it. It's a good way to get your kids to eat salad. So many of us are raised on it.
I like vinaigrette.4 -
My favorite is cucumber ranch dressing...yep, I'm American. I don't put a ton on my salads though. It's hard to describe. It's not thick like mayo, but it is creamy. It doesn't have a garlic taste .......it's very mild. I don't like dressings with oil or vinegar. Another favorite of mine is honey mustard.
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American here who *kitten* hates ranch. (My husband is from Indiana and prefers cheese sauce as a dip. Also gross.) I don’t think it’s regional either because I’ve lived on the West coast and the Midwest and most people like ranch. It’s a bit tart but very creamy and fatty. I prefer bleu cheese or marinara or nothing at all.2
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It's just mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, and/or Greek yogurt with powered onion, powdered garlic, and a few herbs added in. It was supposedly invented in the 1950s, but is probably a rip-off (knowingly or not) of an older traditional French creme fraiche type recipe. The flavor profile is traditionally French.
I get a variety of snobby cooking magazines (*ahem* intellectual food culture periodicals, as they like to think of themselves) and sometimes they enjoy having pearl-clutching vapors over ranch, because "those sorts" of unfancy people enjoy it. Specifically, Lucky Peach highlighted its popularity in West Virginia a couple of years ago.
However, there are plenty of fancy people who enjoy it too, but only when it is bespoke and called by a fancy name. Here is a good NY Times article on its history:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/dining/ranch-dressing-history.html
For me, a scant amount sure helped 200 g of raw broccoli go down a little easier; I had a big pile and happily snacked on it all afternoon.7 -
I pretty much despise salad dressing in general.
When I eat salad, if I don't have it as a main meal with cottage cheese acting as the dressing, I'll just give it a squeeze of lemon juice and add a teaspoon of olive oil, crack on some fresh ground pepper, sprinkle on some salt, and toss.1 -
It's definitely popular in the U.S. as it has been the top selling salad dressing since 1992. Personally, I think it's just ok...for a creamy dressing I prefer blue cheese, but most often balsamic vinaigrette or Italian. My wife makes a really good balsamic vinaigrette.0
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I really would like to know how asking about Ranch Dressing can be construed as *woo* lol6
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yeah i totally dunk pizza in ranch dressing - not a huge fan of having it on salad - does that make me a heathen or not?2
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I like ranch, Hidden Valley ranch. The low fat or off brands just aren't the same.3
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deannalfisher wrote: »yeah i totally dunk pizza in ranch dressing - not a huge fan of having it on salad - does that make me a heathen or not?
I think it's more common than you think. We have a pizzeria here locally called Dions and they sell a ton of their own ranch dressing, namely for customers to dip their pizza in it.
I actually think of ranch as more of a dip than a dressing. I don't really like it on a salad, but I'll dip raw veggies like carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, etc in it. My kids like dipping their chicken nuggets or chicken fingers in it...actually, they like it with most things.1 -
suziecue25 wrote: »Why is Ranch Dressing used so much in the USA? All I ever see mentioned on here is Ranch......I've never tried it although it is available in UK [along with numerous other dressings]. Is it like garlic mayonnaise? Is it addictive?
My favourite homemade salad dressing is .......white wine vinegar/honey/wholegrain mustard.....
what's your favourite salad dressing?
I'm pretty sure mayo is a base, but it doesn't have the consistency of mayo...it's creamy, but not super thick like mayo and doesn't taste like mayo. The stronger flavor is the butter milk or sour cream. It's not really garlic tasting...more chives, parsley, and dill.2 -
I don't care for Ranch on salads.. but I'll dip anything fried in it!!2
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When we first moved to the US, my older sister discovered ranch and loved it. I absolutely hate the consistency and smell. I prefer vinaigrettes like balsamic or italian. Americans certainly do love their ranch dressing though. They put it in pasta, on sandwiches, etc.3
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cwolfman13 wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »yeah i totally dunk pizza in ranch dressing - not a huge fan of having it on salad - does that make me a heathen or not?
I think it's more common than you think. We have a pizzeria here locally called Dions and they sell a ton of their own ranch dressing, namely for customers to dip their pizza in it.
I actually think of ranch as more of a dip than a dressing. I don't really like it on a salad, but I'll dip raw veggies like carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, etc in it. My kids like dipping their chicken nuggets or chicken fingers in it...actually, they like it with most things.
I can see it working as a dip, I'll give it a try.0 -
The only time I eat Ranch is with a veggie tray. I never understood why it is so popular. I don't like it on salad. I like a good vinaigrette.0
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suziecue25 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »yeah i totally dunk pizza in ranch dressing - not a huge fan of having it on salad - does that make me a heathen or not?
I think it's more common than you think. We have a pizzeria here locally called Dions and they sell a ton of their own ranch dressing, namely for customers to dip their pizza in it.
I actually think of ranch as more of a dip than a dressing. I don't really like it on a salad, but I'll dip raw veggies like carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, etc in it. My kids like dipping their chicken nuggets or chicken fingers in it...actually, they like it with most things.
I can see it working as a dip, I'll give it a try.
I know people do put it on salad, but if I had to guess, I'd say most people use it more commonly as a dipping sauce. It's very popular with veggie trays and deep fried foods like mozzarella sticks and the like...pretty popular with chicken wings as well as blue cheese dressing.0 -
I'm also an American who can't stomach ranch. We actually never had it at home so I didn't try it until I was an adult. We lived in a rural area so rarely ate out. I was only exposed to what we had at home.
I prefer Thousand Island, French, or Catalina. Maybe a vinaigrette but it really depends on which one.
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I like a fresh, housemade buttermilk ranch sometimes. But I think most bottled ranch just tastes like soybean oil.
My husband, who is Cuban, loves ranch on everything. He will dip pizza, french fries, just about anything in any ranch dressing.1 -
deannalfisher wrote: »yeah i totally dunk pizza in ranch dressing - not a huge fan of having it on salad - does that make me a heathen or not?
Heathen, yes1 -
suziecue25 wrote: »Why is Ranch Dressing used so much in the USA? All I ever see mentioned on here is Ranch......
Interesting, I'd not noticed it mentioned much. It's popular, but hardly overwhelmingly so. I don't like it (not that I dislike it, I rarely think about it, since I really like vinaigrettes). I liked ranch as a kid (but even then preferred "Italian" if gve a choice, and that's basically a type of vinaigrette). Re ranch, my mother would mix it up from a package. (Ranch on pizza is something I have managed to avoid even knowing was a thing pre MFP.)1
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