Ranch dressing has been the best-selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992.

Ranch Dressing was developed by Steve Henson in the early 1950 while working as a plumbing contractor in the Alaskan bush. Steve and his wife Gayle opened Hidden Valley Ranch, near Santa Barbara, California. There they served it to their guests. The guests loved it so that they bottled the dressing and sold it to the guests to take home.

Ranch dressing is not only very popular as salad, but it is used as a dipping sauce for crudites, chips and even chicken wings.

The dressing has been chopped, changed, bastardized and copied for years. However the fact remains, people love it and so does my family.

I make a batch of the stuff every week. We eat it on jacket potatoes, salads, grilled fish, grilled chicken, as a dip and the children will not eat chips without this incredible sauce. The sauce keeps well in the fridge for a week, that is if it will last that long.

The secret to this sauce is buttermilk instead of milk. It is the buttermilk and the sour cream which give the sauce that tangy flavor. I will give you the basics, but make the sauce to what you have available or your preferences.

Ok, now make the sauce, you can thank me later.

Ranch Dressing

makes about 3 cups (750ml)

Ingredients

1 cup good quality mayonnaise

½ cup  sour cream

½ cup Faircape Amasi or buttermilk – use more or less, depending on how think you want the dressing

2 cloves garlic – crushed

a big handful of parsley

a big handful of basil

1-2 t – white wine vinegar

1 t Worcestershire sauce

½ t paprika

½ t cayenne pepper

Method

Place all the ingredients in your blender and process until smooth. Taste and adjust if needed.

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