Why Does Restaurant Ranch Taste So Much Better Than Store-Bought?

Collectively, we eat a lot of ranch dressing in America. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Statista, over 100 million Americans used at least one bottle of Hidden Valley ranch dressing in the last 30 days from when they were surveyed. And let's face it, ranch works on practically everything. The cool, creamy, tangy condiment is a tasty dipper for pizza, salad, raw veggies, fried chicken, wings, french fries, and almost any other type of fried appetizer. 

With us being the connoisseurs that we are, it's not difficult to determine that the ranch we buy at the store in the bottles tastes noticeably different from the ranch we are served at restaurants. The basic explanation is that most eateries aren't using the same squeeze-bottle ranches that we keep in our fridges. They are either making their own, or doctoring up pre-made ranch dressing with other ingredients to make it taste better. MEL Magazine spoke to an Oklahoma-based restaurant server who admitted, "We literally use Hidden Valley Ranch packets to make [our ranch dressing]." And these packets are widely available at many grocery stores. By combining the packet of seasoning with some buttermilk and mayonnaise, you get a result that is much closer to restaurant ranch than any bottled brand.

And, depending on what other additions or enhancers the restaurant may be using in its ranch, it can differ in taste dramatically from one eatery to the next.

According to Jordan Howlett, who Instagram fans know as @jordan_the_stallion8, an influencer with more than 11 million followers who shares the secrets behind popular foods, the "secret" to producing restaurant style ranch lies in a using a packet of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch seasoning which (according to the package) is to be mixed with a cup of buttermilk and a cup of mayonnaise. However, the popular influencer says you must specifically use McCormick brand Mayonesa with Lime, and he also adds a dollop of sour cream and some chopped fresh dill. This combo supposedly makes something that anyone could mistake for a restaurant ranch. And if you don't have buttermilk, here's an easy substitution.

Eateries might be using regular milk instead of buttermilk; chopped aromatics like shallot or garlic; a variety of fresh herbs such as parsley or chives; or perhaps a touch of acid from fresh lemons or limes to make their own dressings taste unique and delicious. Since practically every restaurant has ranch dressing as a salad dressing or dipping option, it's nearly impossible to determine all of the ways these places treat their ranch, but again, anyone who loves the bottled stuff would probably tell you how it's almost never the same when they eat out (and, likely, better).

Some suggestions from a person who worked in the restaurant industry given in response to a Reddit post titled, "How do I make restaurant-quality ranch?" included making sure the buttermilk used to mix with ranch seasoning packets is full-fat instead of low-fat; incorporating goat cheese as a thickener and for some extra tang; and adding a tad of apple cider vinegar (which also tastes great in baked goods).

If you're mixing up ranch from a packet at home, the dressing comes together quickly, but it tends to be a little runny right after it's mixed. Time in the refrigerator will thicken it up, or you can speed the thickening process up by mixing in some sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Making homemade ranch without a packaged seasoning isn't difficult; it just requires a lot more ingredients including mayo, sour cream, milk, lots of dried or fresh herbs, seasonings, and an acid like lemon juice. Of course, you're going to be the best judge of what tastes best, so maybe make a few batches of the dressing, ranging from totally homemade to packet-based, and see which most resembles your favorite eatery's ranch.