The Rise Of Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing has become an American classic , much like burgers and fries, or apple pie. Except unlike those it's everywhere - from our veggies to pizza - yes - pizza. This simple dip has not only taken over our kitchens but our lives as well. It's  as much a part of our culinary landscape as Thanksgiving turkey  or apple pie

Julia Moskin wrote about everyone's favorite dressing in today's New York Times Food section.Americans  love this uniquely American dressing.In fact in Europe ranch is simply known as American, that's how much it's entwined in our culture and identity.The reason for this lies in the dressings truly US' roots. It was first created in Alaska, by former plumber Steven Henson, a Nebraskan from Thayer Nebraska. He was on a construction crew and sometimes cooked for his fellow workers. In that part of the US, fresh ingredients such as dairy, herbs, garlic and onions were hard to come by. They had to come in powder form which served as the basis of ranch  dressing. by 1954, Mr Hensen and his wife , Gayle, had bought a ranch north of Santa Barbara California which they renamed Hidden Valley. There was a guest ranch house and a steak restaurant also on the property with the latter becoming more popular. The reason - a creamy , garlicky, spicy salad dressing. According to their son, Nolan,  diners were bringing mayo jars to be filled with it. Ranch dressing was being poured on everything, from steaks and veggies to salads. The senior Hensens created much easier to carry   envelopes of the dried ingredients to be mixed with buttermilk or mayonnaise at the diner's home The base for ranch is not a new idea. French onion dip is a precursor as is Mediterranean aioli and Middle Eastern toum.

It took until the 1980's for the dressing to become nationally known.It has spread eastward in the Seventies however it wasn't until 1986 when Doritos introduced Cool Ranch Doritos that ranch became a phenomena. Everyone loved the cool flavor and crunch and the chips opened the door for ranch to go from salad topper to dip. People were dipping french fries into it, chips and even using it on Buffalo wings replacing blue cheese dressing.As for the pizza and ranch marriage, it was Domino's Pizza who first used it on their wings. Consumers then realized it went well with their leftover pizza crusts.Before long the Millennials were dunking whole slices of the pie into it.There was resistance at first , but now Domino's and other pizza chains offer pies drizzled with it. Even upscale fancier places such as Emily's , owned by chef Marc Hyland and his wife , EMily offer ranch  topped pizza. Because of it's popularity - it was voted America's favorite dressing - other eateries are making their versions of it.Williamsburg Brooklyn's Samesa offers a Middle Eastern version made with labneh,a thick yogurt alongside chicken wings crusted with the zesty za'atar. Parcel 32 in Charleston, South Carolina has a cumin buttermilk aioli  while at Compere Lapin in New Orleans jerk roasted corn is served with ranch infused bread crumbs, thanks to chef Nina Compton's creativity.

We love ranch dressing. What's not to love?It's a mix of cool and spicy that goes well with everything. It definitely is the star of the American culinary scene.