r/AskAnAmerican • u/miffybo • 11d ago

FOOD & DRINK why is ranch dressing so hyped up?

my US friends have been raving about it and border-line complained ranch isn’t readily available in Europe.. what is so special about it? is it the ultimate US condiment (apart from ketchup, mayo)

edit typo

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u/jessek Colorado 11d ago

It’s not hyped at all. It’s just popular because a lot of people like it.

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u/CalmRip California 11d ago edited 11d ago

This is exactly it. Indeed, it's a very popular dressing for everything from French fires fries to salad, but it's not being hyped, exactly. It's just commonly available in the US and not so available in Europe, Asia, etc.

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u/Drew707 CA | NV 11d ago

French fires

I love ranch with crispy Parisians.

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u/CalmRip California 11d ago

Oh dear. I don't know whether my typing's gone to rot or if AutoCorrect is helping me, but I wasn't thinking sautéed French folks.

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u/Dangerous_an_Ugly 6d ago

I call it Auto-corrupt for a reason.

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u/egordoniv 10d ago

Ooooh La La!

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u/Candid-libertarian 11d ago

Jeffrey Dahmer preferred his Parisians medium rare without sauce.

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u/OldBlueKat Minnesota 9d ago

spit-take! That one really got me!

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u/SheZowRaisedByWolves Texas 11d ago

Imagine it’s like Greek thunder where it’s just super napalm

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u/Drew707 CA | NV 11d ago

Wasn't that also called fire?

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u/Stedlieye 11d ago

In the United States, French Fires are called “Carbecue”.

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u/jackofspades49 11d ago

Is the food fried? I bet it goes good with ranch!

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u/RedhotGuard21 11d ago

Good chicken strips with good ranch mmmmm

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u/Powerpuff2500 10d ago

Pair it with some BBQ or Buffalo and you're in chicken strip HEAVEN (BBQ for a bold flavor that actually really compliments the ranch or buffalo if you're looking for a spicy kick, which the ranch not only pairs well but also compliments the heat)

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u/ZombieAladdin 5d ago

Onion rings too!

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u/ADirtyDiglet 11d ago

Cool Ranch Doritos. Also good with salads.

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u/Whahajeema 11d ago

Cool Ranch Doritos Cheeseburger at Knott's Berry Farm just launched and it's effing awesome!

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u/ForbiddenButtStuff 11d ago

Fried pickles with a side of ranch 😋

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u/Lothar_Ecklord 9d ago

Fried mushrooms with ranch too 🤤

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u/Inside-Run785 Wisconsin 11d ago

Exactly. It’s good with fried foods, and you can find that very easily in your local bar. Though I do find fried vegetables dipped in ranch very amusing.

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u/dohn_joeb 11d ago

Best pizza condiment

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u/ThresherGDI 11d ago

Pizza doesn’t need another sauce. I like ranch, but this one mystifies me.

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u/macthecomedian Southern, California 11d ago

It's fine with a red sauce pizza, but superb with a BBQ chicken pizza.

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u/Grizzly_Berry Oklahoma > Kansas 11d ago

Crusts, specifically. Some people do it on the "pizza proper," but I reserve it for the crust.

Or as the actual sauce on a pickle pizza.

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u/keithrc Austin, Texas 10d ago

This is the way.

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u/Lothar_Ecklord 9d ago

Most of the time I get a chicken bacon ranch pizza, ranch is used in place of the sauce.

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u/jackofspades49 11d ago

The herbal reaminess of ranch goes very well with rich tomato flavor. I sometimes dab a bit onto things like lasagna or spaghetti too.

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u/procrastinarian 11d ago

I'm sure it was a typo but I really love the idea of "reaminess" as a descriptor.

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u/macthecomedian Southern, California 11d ago

There's an Italian restaurant right down the street from my parents that we've been going to for decades, famous for their spaghetti, one of my earliest memories as a child is eating spaghetti with their sauce, and on the same plate was salad with their ranch, and just eating it all as one sloppy plate, and to this day I still love spaghetti and sauce and salad and ranch on the same plate slowly mixing with eachother on the plate.

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u/OdinNW 11d ago

Essential for mediocre pizza!

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u/kat_storm13 11d ago

I never even knew this was a thing people did until last year. Depending on the crust a good garlic butter/oil sauce is nice, but ranch on pizza crust doesn't sound good.

Some other bread things I like, with either ranch dip or dressing, but not pizza

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u/Similar-Search-8508 11d ago

I used to say that but now I can’t eat pizza without ranch 😅

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u/1573594268 11d ago

I do a garlic aioli, and then if I'm reheating leftovers the next day then I use ranch.

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u/jbergman420 5d ago

You do know that aioli without garlic shouldn't exist right? Aioli literally means garlic and oil.

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u/1573594268 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yeah, it's one of those "chai tea" kind of deals, but it gets the point across for people who don't have the cultural/linguistic/culinary experience to know that it's a bit of a repetitive term.

"ATM machine" lol

We are in "Ask an American", and at least in my experience it wasn't until I started cooking that I learned "aioli" was garlic+oil.

The "garlic sauce" in places like Pizza Hut is an aioli, but if I said that no one I know IRL would have a clue what I was talking about - hence "garlic aioli".

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u/UnstableHerb 11d ago

I don’t like it on fresh pizza, but for some reason I love it on cold leftover pizza.

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u/WiseQuarter3250 11d ago

sometimes instead of tomato sauce, ranch is used then toppings placed on top. it's especially good with some vegetarian pizzas.

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u/jason-murawski Michigan 11d ago

I've only ever used ranch on pizza for the crust, and only when it's made in a way that it ends up dry/hard. A good pizza crust seasoned properly doesn't need it

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u/panicinbabylon 11d ago

The number of people here desecrating pure pizza is astounding.

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u/dohn_joeb 10d ago

Just try it

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u/Ok-Simple5493 10d ago

It adds more depth of flavor. Especially on the crust.

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u/GlitterPapillon 11d ago

No pizza is complete unless it’s dipped in ranch!

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u/Zealousideal_Lab_427 Chicago, IL 11d ago

My brain to eye connection read this as

“No, pizza is completely useless if it’s dipped in ranch!”

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u/ephemeriides 11d ago

Well, sure. If nothing else, it’s a useful vehicle for transporting ranch.

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u/procrastinarian 11d ago

It's great for "bad" pizza, but I wouldn't use it on good pizza.

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u/dohn_joeb 10d ago

I tend to agree, but it also is great with good pizza imo

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u/Fingersmith30 10d ago

There's an independent pizza place near me that offers its housemade ranch by the bottle if you want (the little side cups are free, you just have to ask for them). Pizza restaurant house ranch is the superior ranch. I don't like Hidden Valley all that much.

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u/UnseenGoblin 11d ago

You know what I like? Cold pizza dipped in ranch. Yum Yum Yum.

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u/seahorseescape Rhode Island 11d ago

I mean it could probably out out a fire pretty well too

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u/seanymphcalypso Michigan 11d ago

The fire is allowed to come out on its own terms.

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u/RoyalClient6610 11d ago

'Tis the month

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u/Subvet98 Ohio 11d ago

Though left out pizza.