The Story Behind our Ranch Dressing Seasoning

Ranch dressing has an interesting backstory and history. Despite it being so engrained in the collective American consciousness, the dressing has only been around since the 1950s. In 1949, Kenneth Henson, originally from Nebraska, took a job in Alaska as a plumbing contractor and lived there with his wife Gayle for three years. Part of his job was also to cook for himself and his coworkers. This was where he created and perfected his buttermilk dressing that would later become known nationwide as “ranch” and internationally as “American” dressing.

In 1954, he and Gayle purchased a dude ranch called “Sweetwater Ranch.” They hated the name, so they changed it to Hidden Valley Ranch. Somewhere in this time period, Kenneth also changed his name to Steve. For many years, the guests who came and stayed at the ranch would enjoy Steve’s dressing, some of them taking home seasoning packets hand made by Steve and Gayle to make their own ranch dressing at home. Unfortunately, they had to sell part of their land to keep up with the costs of running the ranch, but luckily, they were also able to supplement part of their income with sales of Steve’s dressing. Eventually, requests started pouring in from all over the country and for just 75 cents, a customer would receive a packet of their dry spice mix in the mail.

Eventually, their dressing garnered so much attention that the folks over at Clorox decided they would buy the recipe for $8 million dollars. They marketed their product as “Hidden Valley Ranch,” making it into the shelf stable condiment we all know and love today. In 2017, a study done by the Association for Dressing and Sauces revealed that over 40% of Americans identify ranch as being their favorite dressing, the runner up being Italian with only 10% of the vote. We thought we could bring something new to the table with this iconic American condiment. Our Ranch Dressing Seasoning is a simple way to get ranch flavor on everything you love to eat.

What’s in it?

Our Ranch Dressing Seasoning is hand blended from onion, garlic, salt, parsley, black pepper and dill weed.

Flavor Profile

Our Ranch Dressing Seasoning is tangy, a bit sweet, and has a mild bite to it.

Where to Use

To make a creamy ranch dressing at home, combine 2 tablespoons of dry ranch dressing, 2 cups of mayonnaise, 2 cups of buttermilk, 1-1/2 cups of sour cream and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before using to let the flavors develop. This makes about 2 quarts of dressing.

In addition to making a dressing for salads use this Ranch Dressing Seasoning to season burgers, sandwiches, any kind of potatoes, pasta, jalapeno poppers, popcorn, pretzels, spring rolls, chicken sliders, coleslaw, grilled cheese and casseroles. It’s wonderful in macaroni and cheese, on cauliflower, mushrooms, and with green beans. When mixed with sour cream, this Ranch Dressing Seasoning makes a great dip for vegetables, pizza slices and deep-fried food. 1 tablespoon for every four ounces of sour cream is a typical ratio standard, but you could use differing amounts depending on your own preferences.

One of our favorite recipes using Ranch Dressing Seasoning is Instant Pot Ranch Chicken.

Helpful Hints

Ranch Dressing Seasoning can be used in place of ranch dressing when you want that ranch flavor without the fat and extra calories of real ranch dressing. If you are applying this as a meat rub, use a tablespoon for every pound of meat.

Meeting Your Business Needs with Our Products

Ranch Dressing Seasoning is a convenient way to whip up a house made ranch dressing without worrying too much about proportions- all the hard work of measuring dry herbs and spices is already done for you! Some of our customers use this in their own dressing recipes, specialty dips at their restaurants, or as a flavoring on their cheese curds! Biting into fresh, squeaky cheese curds doused with a generous amount of Ranch Dressing Seasoning is basically a look into what the best version of the afterlife will taste like. It’s a hit with specialty popcorn and pretzel shops where the dry seasoning can be added to the buttered popcorn or the freshly baked pretzels for an herbaceous, refreshing flavor that’s hard to say no to. Buying in bulk is perfect for our restaurateur and specialty shop customers because it will bring you that ranch dressing flavor without the constant worrying about spoilage that might come about with an actual dressing.

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