Ranch Dressing

Ranch is a salad dressing or a dip consisting of buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, herbs (such as dill, parsley, and chives), and spices (such as mustard seed, black pepper, and paprika) mixed into a mayonnaise-based sauce. Today, it is the number one salad dressing in the United States, but it was invented a long time ago, in 1954 by Gayle and Steve Henson on their ranch near Santa Barbara in California. The ranch was opened for visitors, who loved the flavors of their homemade salad dressing, which was named Ranch shortly after that, and it became the only dressing to ever be served at the ranch. The dressing gained huge popularity, and in 1972, the Hensons sold their brand to the Clorox Company for $8 million. In 1983, when a bottled version of the dressing appeared, the sales skyrocketed. It became so popular that it outsold other popular salad dressings such as Italian, Thousand Island, and Caesar. Today, it is sold in more than 30 countries, with varieties such as Cucumber Ranch, Bacon Ranch, and Spicy Ranch, and it is also being used as a dipping sauce, either on burgers or sandwiches.