Can store-bought ranch ever really compare to home-made? This expert doesn’t think so, and recommends you take the time to make it fresh.
TikTok user DJ Sollender (@djsollender23) owns Build the Body, a salad dressing company dedicated a healthier ranch. In a slide show with more than 178,000 views posted last week, he asks an age-old question. “Why commercial ranch actually tastes worse than homemade,” the content creator writes in the first slide. “From a guy who owns a salad dressing company.”
Then, he explains how restaurant ranch is typically made. “Ranch made at Wingstop it other restaurants is 50%ish buttermilk and the rest is spices and mayo,” he says in the second slide.
How is restaurant ranch typically made?
Indeed, a Wingstop worker exposed the chicken chain’s ranch recipe. It included a gallon of mayonnaise, two and a half gallons of buttermilk, and three large packets of Hidden Valley ranch seasoning, which she mixed.
So, what makes store-bought ranch taste different? “Commercial generally has a maximum of 10% dairy/egg to stay shelf stable,” Sollender explains. “One-fifth the amount of the main flavor (buttermilk) means it’s basically impossible to make shelf stable ranch taste like restaurant or homemade.”
Viewers agree with the PSA
In the comments, users agreed with Sollender’s PSA, expressing disdain for the taste of grocery store ranch.
“makes sense! what a bummer though, it’s a shame you can’t shelf stabilize it like mayo,” one viewer said.
“Shelf ranch is so disgusting it always [tastes] vinegary or rancid,” a second commented.
However, others disagreed and shared the store-bought brands they liked.
“Litehouse ranch is where it is at,” one user stated.
“Ken’s Buttermilk is the best shelf stable one,” another shared.
“Toby’s ranch is my favorite. It’s in the refrigerator section next to salads,” a third revealed.
How does a shelf-stable ranch preserve its freshness?
According to the NIH, these ranches use high-pressure processing to keep it fresh. This method uses high pressure to kill bacteria that contaminate food.
“High-Pressure Processing makes your food safe without the use of heat by applying extreme pressures to the product. These pressures can reach 87,000 psi (pounds per square inch),” according to Maryland Packaging. “The pressure is applied equally from all directions, protecting the shape and structure of your food.”
Another trick to keeping shelf-stable ranch fresh is it contains more preservatives than its counterparts.
How to make homemade ranch
In a recipe from Allrecipes, you need 1 cup of buttermilk and mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon of dried parsley and garlic powder, half a teaspoon of onion powder, and a quarter of a teaspoon of dill weed and as much pepper as you want. First, you put the buttermilk and mayonnaise in a bowl and whisk it. When it’s smooth, you add the seasonings and stir it. Once you’re done, you put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Update: Sollender shared with the Daily Dot why he felt compelled to create this video.
“I own a salad dressing company and noticed how a lot of people feel that there’s not a commercial dressing out there that compares to a homemade one, so I wanted to explain why that is,” he shared via email.
Because of his knowledge in food sciences, he found out what made homemade ranch taste different than the store brand.
“Using my knowledge of food science through owning a salad dressing company for the last 3 years, attending better process control school, and an overall understanding of how the factors that make commercial dressing shelf stable fundamentally make it nearly impossible to make a commercial dressing taste the same as homemade,” he said.
With that being said, the content creator doesn’t plan on buying store-brand ranch anytime soon.
“As a guy who cares about his health and fitness, I didn’t feel there was a dressing out there made for people like me trying to be fit & healthy.. which is why I created our dressings! They have 8g protein per serving, just 70-80 cals and clean ingredients as well! It’s the only commercial dressing I’d buy because it’s the only one that fits my lifestyle,” Sollender stated.
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