Buttermilk-mayo dressing with garlic, onion, dill, chive — the American salad and pizza dipping default.
1954, Alaska bush-camp cook Steve Henson moved to a 120-acre dude ranch outside Santa Barbara he renamed Hidden Valley. Guests loved the dressing he served on iceberg, asked to take it home, and he started selling packets of the dry herb mix to be reconstituted with buttermilk and mayo. Sold the brand to Clorox in 1972 for $8 million; Clorox switched to a stable bottled formula in 1983.
Hidden Valley sells over $1 billion of ranch a year; Americans eat 800 million pounds annually. 73% of US restaurants list ranch on the menu (NPD 2019). Cool Ranch Doritos launched 1986 and is the second-best-selling Doritos flavour worldwide. In Pittsburgh and Buffalo it goes on pizza unprompted; West Coasters consider that a war crime.
Pale ivory, pourable but coats. Tangy buttermilk forward, mayo body, garlic-onion savoury, dill and chive grassy on top. Eaten on iceberg wedge, Buffalo wings, pizza crust, raw vegetables, fries, Cool Ranch Doritos. America's #1 salad dressing — overtook Italian dressing for the top spot in 1992 and never gave it back.
Three-part emulsion: mayo provides the fat-and-egg stable base, buttermilk thins and adds lactic-acid tang and Maillard depth, sour cream optional for body. Dry herbs (dehydrated onion, garlic, parsley, dill, chive, MSG in Hidden Valley) need 30 minutes hydration cold for full aroma. Whisk only, no blender — over-emulsifying turns it pasty.
Variations
Hidden Valley original, Ken's Steak House (East Coast diner default), Marie's refrigerated, Newman's Own organic; restaurant-made 'house ranch' typically swaps in fresh dill, lemon, and Duke's mayo. Tex-Mex 'jalapeño ranch' (Chuy's, 1982 Austin) blends in roasted jalapeño and cilantro.
On the Palate
Where Ranch Dressing sits in the American flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
3 steps · 5 min active + 1 hour waiting
- 12 min
Whisk 240 ml buttermilk + 240 ml mayonnaise + 120 ml sour cream in a bowl.
Watch outWhisk by hand only until smooth and pourable — a blender over-works it and turns the dressing pasty.
- 23 min
Stir in 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp dried dill, 2 tbsp chopped fresh chive.
- 360 min
Season with 1 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp pepper; refrigerate 1 hour to meld flavors.
Watch outGive it the full hour cold — the dried herbs need that time to soften and bloom, or it tastes flat and powdery.
