Taste testing 5 Bottled Ranch Dressings.
Got to admit it, nothing for us beats dousing those hot crispy potato wedges in ranch sauce.
This sauce can transform anything from adding some of this to your healthy-ish boring salads to dipping your crispy chicken fingers in. It sure does get those taste buds asking for more.
The origin of this creamy goodness dates back to the 1950s when Steven Henson developed ranch dressing. Steven and his wife opened up Hidden Valley Ranch. They began to sell the dressing.
We did the heavy lifting of trying out 5 different brands.
1) Wish-Bone Ranch Dressing
2) Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing
3) Whole Foods (365 Brand) Organic ranch dressing.
4) Kraft Ranch dressing
5) Marie's Ranch Dressing
What we look for when doing out taste testing -
We are looking for the creaminess without a lot of artificial thickening. Along with the freshness of herbs, we also are looking for a primary taste of the buttermilk (DUH!!) along with a richness which is derived from the eggs and mayonnaise. A good tang without overpowering the lovely ranch dressing.
Here are the results -
1) Wish-Bone Ranch Dressing (6/10)
Sweet and creamy. This could have been a good option but these guys went overboard with the sourness of the ranch which is overpowering.
2) Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing (4.5/10)
This brand started it all. With having high hopes for the brand, we were quickly bought to the reality of how tart this dressing was. With no spice in the backend and an overpowering taste of onion. We definitely weren't too pleased with the results of this one.
3) Whole Foods (365 Brand) Organic Ranch Dressing (6/10)
Whole Foods ranch is creamy and thick as expected. The small issue with this one is they got too excited with the tartness accompanied with the chunks of dried herbs. Overall a better choice than the OG Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.
4) Kraft Ranch Dressing and Dip (5/10)
Kraft's ranch dressing is amongst the thickest and creamiest among its contenders. You get a blow of a pronounced garlic taste as soon as this hits your pallet. It is difficult to taste the herbs and spices due to the presence of garlic.
5) Marie's Creamy Ranch Dressing (7/10)
This one definitely stood out from amongst the other brands. With being available in a refrigerated aisle along with its classy packaging, this dressing had a lot of the real ingredients which we'd expect. This dressing lost its points for being overly thick which is mostly used for dips than having to well, making an attempt to pour it on your salad.
Conclusion, none of the dressings blew us out of the water for a balanced well tasting ranch dressing. Why not try and test making a homemade ranch dressing in which you're aware of the ingredients you're using. A homemade dressing has a shelf life of a week. Making it in small batches will not only help keep the dressing fresh tasting but also gives you a chance to experiment with different levels of flavor that suits your taste buds along with keeping it low in sodium as well as the tart.
*All the dressings were performed in a random order and blindfolded. We aren't sponsoring any of these brands. The taste test was not in any specific order.*
