Ranch Dressing In 1954 ranch dressing was invented at Hidden Valley Ranch, a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, California.
Ranch dressing has been the best-selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992, overtaking Italian dressing.
Hidden Valley brand owns the right to ‘the Original Ranch.‘ After decades of trademark lawsuits similar products can be labeled ‘ranch style’ or simply ‘ranch’
While popular in the United States and Canada, ranch dressing is virtually unknown in most of the world
Since 1972 Hidden Valley Ranch has been owned by Clorox. Ranch dressing was created in 1949 by a plumber-turned-cowboy. While working as a contract plumber in Alaska, Steve Henson started cooking for his coworkers and perfecting his buttermilk dressing recipe. Five years later he moved to California with his wife Gayle and bought a ranch.
His famous butter milk dressing soon became a staple at the dinner table of Hidden Valley Ranch and before long the Hensons started selling it to guests and local supermarkets. Over two decades later in 1972, the couple sold their name and recipe to Clorox for $8 million. Not bad for a little buttermilk, mayo, and herbs.