Ranch is a culinary buzzword that you see on every menu, but what does it really mean? Explore wide-open flavors with this guide to Ranch and all its delicious flavors!
What Does Ranch Taste Like?
Few condiments are as popular in the United States as ranch dressing. It’s a smooth, tangy, and irresistible way to add flavor to anything!
This bold dressing has a flavor all of its own and it makes everything it’s paired with even better!
Ranch tastes creamy, zippy, and herbaceous. Ranch’s taste has notes of rich fermented dairy flavor combined with the fresh herbal flavor of dill.
With ranch, your taste buds will be awash in flavors of buttermilk, cream, garlic, and dill. It’s a wonderful flavor explosion!
What is Ranch?
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Over the last decade ranch has skyrocketed in popularity and today it is much more than simple salad dressing.
Ranch can be used as a dressing, dip, sauce, and more! Ranch is just the thing to enhance the flavor of any dish you can imagine, thanks to its earthy and creamy flavors!
Ranch is a common North American dressing made with a creamy base and tons of herbal flavors.
The story goes that this creamy dressing was invented by an American plumber in the mid-1950s, but ranch has come far from that humble beginning!
This awesome condiment is used as a spice, seasoning, marinade, dip, and so much more!
Is Eating Ranch Healthy?
Ranch is so delicious that one starts to wonder, can something so tasty be good for one’s health?
Unfortunately, the answer is a little mixed. In general, when enjoyed in moderation this rich-tasting condiment is perfectly fine; however, too much ranch can be a bad thing.
Ranch is a condiment so the serving size is not meant to be large, but in one serving you get almost a quarter of your daily recommended fat intake.
You can make the swap to a lighter ranch to preserve that herbed flavor without quite as many calories.
Always check your food label and eat ranch thoughtfully!
What’s Better: Ranch Seasoning vs. Ranch Dressing?
Ranch is so beloved that it has more forms than you might expect. You can find ranch by the bottle in the salad dressing aisle but you can also find it in packets and shakers by the spices. Why is this?
Ranch is such a popular flavor that it is made to be used as both a dressing and a seasoning.
Ranch dry seasoning has everything you need to create that signature creamy dill ranch flavor but in a convenient dried spice; whereas, ranch dressing has all the seasonings needed for ranch already mixed up with a mayonnaise or sour cream base.
Both items are delicious and useful in their own way.
If you are a DIY-er, ranch seasonings are perfect because it allows you to make the sauce yourself.
It also allows you to use the dry spices as rub or seasoning for other foods, but if you’re a convenience addict, nothing beats the bottle!
Bottled ranch is ready to use and it can still be doctored with added hot sauce, bacon, or cheese if you want to make it your own!
How to Serve Ranch?
The beauty of ranch is that it can be served in practically any way you can imagine!
Use it as a dressing, a dip, a marinade, or as a creamy addition to sauces. No matter where you mix it in, ranch’s taste adds tang and creamy flavor!
One of Ranch’s best friends is chicken.
Try serving ranch as a chicken dipping sauce for a classic combo, but if that doesn’t take the ranch flavor far enough, try marinating raw chicken in ranch.
You can even use ranch instead of eggs as a way to bind breadcrumbs to the raw chicken before frying!
Notes on This Ranch Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
- Powdered Buttermilk – Powdered buttermilk is a pantry staple that takes the creamy tangy flavor of buttermilk and makes it into an evaporated milk product. There really is not an equal dried substitute for this ingredient, so don’t swap it out!
- Garlic Powder – Garlic is one of the most prominent flavors in this seasoning. Use powdered garlic for the best results.
- Onion Powder – Onion powder brings a sweet and savory veggie flavor to this seasoning.
- Dried Parsley – Dried parsley is perfect, but if you are going to use this seasoning blend quickly you can swap all the dried herbs for fresh.
- Dried Dill – Dried dill brings flavor and aroma to this delicious ranch.
- Dried Chives – Chives have a nice spicy-onion flavor that adds so much to this blend.
- Dried Mustard – Dried mustard adds an earthy zip to this recipe. Choose ground mustard or use a spice grinder to freshly grind mustard.
- Dried Tarragon – Tarragon has an earthy and sweet flavor similar to fennel. It helps to round out this ranch’s flavor.
- Sugar – Sugar helps to highlight the creamy sweetness of ranch. White granulated sugar will work perfectly for this recipe.
- Salt – For this recipe, choose fine-grain salt.
- Black Pepper – Ground black pepper rounds out this spice blend with a nice bite!
Expert Tips
- To make this seasoning into a sauce mix about 2 tablespoons with mayonnaise or sour cream.
- This ranch seasoning makes a great dry rub for pork chops or chicken.
- If swapping for fresh herbs in this blend, use three times the amount of dried herbs called for in the recipe.
Homemade Ranch Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
½ Cup Powdered Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
1 Tablespoon Dried Dill
2 Teaspoons Dried Chives
½ Teaspoon Dried Mustard
1 Teaspoon Dried Tarragon
1 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
Directions
- In a small food storage container or jar, combine the buttermilk, garlic, onion, parsley, dill, chives, mustard, tarragon, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Shake or whisk until all the ingredients are evenly distributed and combined.
- Store in a covered container in a cool, dry area for up to 6 months.
- One 15 fl oz bottle of Wish-Bone Ranch Dressing
- Creamy ranch dressing adds bold flavor to your favorite recipes
- Made with onion, garlic and black pepper
- Gluten free salad dressing contains no high fructose corn syrup
- Adds classic flavor to fresh salads, vegetables and dips
