The Alaskan plumber who turned a ranch dressing into a multi-million dollar industry
What began as a simple way to mix mayo and buttermilk for guests in a California dude ranch has become America's most popular salad dressing. But the creamy, shelf-stable version you buy today is a far cry from the original recipe created by Steve Henson.
The story of ranch dressing begins in the late 1940s and early 1950s with Steve Henson, a plumbing contractor working in Alaska. After moving to the Santa Barbara area, Henson and his wife opened the Hidden Valley Dude Ranch. While guests enjoyed the ranch itself, they became obsessed with Henson's homemade salad dressing. This popularity eventually led the couple to begin selling the dressing commercially.
The original recipe was a dairy-heavy concoction centered on buttermilk, mixed with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, garlic, and onion powder, along with MSG. However, because of its high dairy content, the original version was not durable. The transformation of ranch from a fresh condiment to a global phenomenon required significant intervention from food scientists after Clorox acquired Hidden Valley in 1972. The primary challenge was creating a 'shelf stable' product that could survive unrefrigerated transport and grocery store shelves without spoiling.
By 1983, food scientists had developed a version capable of remaining on shelves for up to 150 days. This modern iteration relies on a different chemical foundation; the first four ingredients are typically vegetable oil, water, egg yolk, and sugar, supplemented by stabilizers like xanthan gum and disodium phosphate. While this innovation allowed the brand to scale, food critics like J. Kenji López-Alt note that such shelf-stable recipes often sacrifice the complex flavors of the original for the sake of convenience and longevity.
Source: What The #@&%*! Is 'Ranch' Flavor?
