Ranch dressing, ubiquitous though it may be in American supermarkets, does not have to come out of a bottle. What I have here may not be the original formula, but it, unlike its store-bought cousins, is formulated for taste rather than unrefrigerated shelf life. Easy to master and easy to modify to your taste, this is a version of ranch dressing that’s quick to make, helps cool you down on a sweaty summer day and has a tasty tang that would feel right at home on the range.
A Little About Buttermilk
Created by Steve (who also went by Kenneth B.) Henson, ranch dressing is based on a combination of buttermilk and mayonnaise. And though the store-bought version has undergone many revisions since its inception, the homemade variety remains firmly entrenched in this effective combination. And, in fact, the buttermilk is even more important than the mayonnaise. Why? Let’s take a look.
Buttermilk gets its name from the fact that it was the byproduct of butter production. In times past, as milk got churned into butter, the milk of the butter, or buttermilk, was produced and quickly soured as lactic acid does its work, denaturing the casein proteins in milk and slightly curdling the dairy. In modern times we just inject some lactic acid into milk, and let the process take its course, but the change in process has not changed buttermilk’s importance to cooking and baking.
See, as the casein (milk) proteins in the buttermilk denature (that means they change shape) and the lactic acid becomes more pronounced, a distinctly sour flavor and acidic bite also become more pronounced. It’s like you added lemon juice to your daily glass of milk. This natural acidity gives flavor serves to activate baking soda in some baked goods and even prolongs the shelf life of the buttermilk, but in the case of ranch-style dressing, it serves one primary functions — adding a heck of a tang to the dressing.
What’s that? You’ve never really noticed much of a tang in that store-bought ranch you’ve had sitting in your fridge for months? That’s because there’s so much other stuff in there to make it last forever that you can’t taste the original ingredients very well. Trust me, the homemade stuff will have it and in spades. It is very, very good.
So good, in fact, that it’s absolutely worth making. True, you’ll probably spend closer to 6 dollars to make the same amount that 4 dollars will buy you in the store, but the store-bought variety is overly sweet and sometimes verges on flavorless (depending on the brand). Plus, a little of the homemade stuff goes a long way.
- 1 cup mayo (homemade when possible)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup buttermilk powder
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes (less if you don't like spicy food!)
- Parsley, to garnish
- Combine all ingredients and shake!
- Enjoy!
Leave a Reply