WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What is 'Ranch' Flavor?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm your friendly neighborhood host Lauren vog Obam here with

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<v Speaker 1>a classic episode from our former host, Christian Sager. This

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<v Speaker 1>one seeks to answer a question that plagues pizza dippers

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<v Speaker 1>and wing eaters alike. What on earth is ranch flavor? Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>brain stuff, this is Christian Sager. If you have spent

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<v Speaker 1>time in the US or Canada, then you have heard

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<v Speaker 1>of ranch dressing. It was invented by a guy named

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<v Speaker 1>Steve Henson in the late forties to the early fifties

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<v Speaker 1>when he worked as a plumbing contractor in Alaska. In

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<v Speaker 1>the fifties, he and his wife moved near Santa Barbara,

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<v Speaker 1>where they opened the Hidden Valley. Dude. Ranch sounds cool, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Visiting guests like the ranch itself, but they loved steve

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<v Speaker 1>salad dressing. Eventually, the Henson's just started selling that and

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<v Speaker 1>the rest is history. Since ranch salad dress has been

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<v Speaker 1>the most popular dressing in the US. But ranch isn't

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<v Speaker 1>a flavor, right, Okay? People outside of the US and Canada,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks for bearing with me through the history lesson, but

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<v Speaker 1>you may have tasted ranch flavoring before. Just under a

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<v Speaker 1>different name. In the Netherlands. For instance, cool Ranch doritos

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<v Speaker 1>are called cool American doritos. That weird American flavor you

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<v Speaker 1>see advertised in the grocery store. That's ranch, and the

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<v Speaker 1>main taste in ranch is buttermilk. I know, I know,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's not quite that simple. Otherwise people would just

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<v Speaker 1>pour buttermilk on stuff, right. The original ranch recipe also

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<v Speaker 1>includes mayonnaise, parsley, pepper, salt, a little time, garlic, onion powder,

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<v Speaker 1>and msg. It's a dairy heavy recipe, which means the

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<v Speaker 1>original version doesn't keep very well, and that means, in turn,

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<v Speaker 1>the famous ranch dressing flying off shelves today is not

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<v Speaker 1>the same stuff that Steve was whipping up for his guests. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the result is some heady, complicated work by the eggheads

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<v Speaker 1>at Chlorox. Yes, that Clorox. They bought Hidden Valley in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventy two. They had a huge problem though. You

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<v Speaker 1>can't just plot bottles of buttermilk and mayo on an

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<v Speaker 1>unrefrigerated shelf and hope for the best, So they started

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<v Speaker 1>tinkering around with the recipe, practicing the arcane art of

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<v Speaker 1>food science. They needed something that's still pretty much tasted

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<v Speaker 1>like Steve's recipe, but was shelf stable, meaning it could

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<v Speaker 1>sit around on a truck or in a grocery store

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<v Speaker 1>long enough for customers to find and buy it. The

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<v Speaker 1>details of Clorox's work remained secret, but it is a

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<v Speaker 1>safe bet that Steve's original recipe didn't include things like

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<v Speaker 1>calcium dis soda, mine, ethel leah diah santa. I can't

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<v Speaker 1>even say this word. It's safe to say that he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't do it. By three, they had cooked up a

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<v Speaker 1>version of ranch that could stay on shelves for up

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<v Speaker 1>to one hundred and fifty days. The first four ingredients

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<v Speaker 1>of modern ranch dressing our vegetable oil, water, egg, yilk,

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<v Speaker 1>and sugar. You'll also see disodium phosphate, zanthem gum, and

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<v Speaker 1>the ever popular calcium disodium. Hmm. Sounds good, right, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you ask food reviewers like j Kenji Lopez Alt,

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<v Speaker 1>most shelf stable recipes end up sacrificing flavor at the

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<v Speaker 1>benefit of convenience. But you've probably also noticed that numerous

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<v Speaker 1>companies make different ranch dressings. There's the Ken Steakhouse stuff

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<v Speaker 1>that Paul Newman guy. The list goes on, and given

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<v Speaker 1>ranches popularity more competitors will enter the fray. It's inspiring

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<v Speaker 1>when you think about it. A multimillion dollar industry sprang

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<v Speaker 1>up because a guy in Alaska apparently decided he was

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<v Speaker 1>tired of eating mayo and buttermilk separately. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Ben Bollin and produced by Tyler Clang Brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a production of iHeart Radios Stuff Works. To hear

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<v Speaker 1>more about Ranch, check out an episode of my food

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<v Speaker 1>podcast Saver. The episode is called Ranch Dude, and Ben

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<v Speaker 1>guests on it, and of course, for more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other topics, visit our home planet, how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works dot com. Plus for more podcasts from my

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio, visit the Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows,