Ranch was created by a plumber, Steve Henson and his wife, Gayle. In 1954, they purchased a ranch right above Santa Barbara, California and named it Hidden Valley Ranch. They opened a steakhouse there that became popular for its salad dressing.

HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH STARTED IN 1954 That's when Steve Henson and his wife, Gayle, purchased 120 acres of sprawling land nestled in the mountains outside of Santa Barbara, California, and started a dude ranch.

GETTING TO KNOW HIDDEN VALLEY The Hidden Valley® Guest Ranch is located near Santa Barbara in California and was favored by visitors who wanted to enjoy the natural surroundings. To read more about how this Ranch dressing became so popular, click here. We are always adding fresh and delicious new recipes to our site!

The original ranch logo shows a rancher next to a picket fence. And that was originally designed by the person that created the flintstones.

Doritos made it famous. Stores first sold the dry mix until shelf-stable bottles of the creamy dressing were introduced in 1983. By the time Cool Ranch Doritos hit the grocery scene in 1986, the ranch phenomenon was officially here to stay.

What makes ranch ranch? It's a combination of creaminess (from buttermilk, sour cream, sometimes mayonnaise) and herbaceousness (often parsley, thyme, dill), plus a long pull of allium (onion and garlic) and a shot of black pepper.

Hidden Valley is popular for filming movies and television shows due to its proximity to Los Angeles, such as:

• the home of President Charles Logan in the television series 24, seasons 5 and 6,
• much of the film Seabiscuit,
• the original site for Greg Sumner's ranch on Knots Landing,

Ingredients, Nutrition & Allergen Info

• Ingredients: Maltodextrin, Buttermilk, Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic*, Onion*, Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate, Spices, Citric Acid, Less Than 1% Of: Calcium Stearate, Artificial Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Carboxymethylcellulose, Guar Gum, Natural Flavor.
• Contains:Milk, Soy.

Even when a restaurant does start with premade ranch, they will often fold in extra fresh herbs, and maybe even more buttermilk, to lighten and bring in some brighter flavors that can be lost in shelf-stable bottling.

United States Ranch dressing

What makes ranch ranch? It's a combination of creaminess (from buttermilk, sour cream, sometimes mayonnaise) and herbaceousness (often parsley, thyme, dill), plus a long pull of allium (onion and garlic) and a shot of black pepper.

Ranch has been the best-selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992, when it overtook Italian. It is also popular in the United States and Canada as a dip, and as a flavoring for potato chips and other foods.