Why is it that Ranch Dressing always tastes so much better in restaurants than in a bottle from the store?

I love it in the restaurants, and it always has a sour taste in the bottle. Is there any way that I can make it taste just like it does in restaurants?Why is it that Ranch Dressing always tastes so much better in restaurants than in a bottle from the store?
I just can't stomach the artificial taste of bottled dressings anymore...I tend to be an oil and vinegar girl, or I make my dressings from scratch...this is an easy one for ranch...



Ranch Dressing:

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 scallion (white and green parts), thinly sliced

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper



Smash the garlic clove, sprinkle with the salt, and, with the side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Scrape the paste into a small bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and whisk well to make a creamy dressing. Use immediately or refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.
Good question!! The crap in the bottle in the store has stabilizers and half the fat content that the stuff in the restaurants have, especially the "corporate steakhouses" (think of Outback and Claimjumper) and the corporate places have a central commissary where "their" special ranch dressings are made, hence you always get that thick, almost too thick taste in restaurants.........BTW, that's another trick they use, filling you up with salad and bread is a tactic so that they can actually use smaller plates to portion control their meal sizes......Good ploy, and everybody falls for it......You can, however, go to restaurant supply houses (Consolidated Foods is one, Smart and Final is another) and get the "restaurants" recipe, but they come in gallon or 5 gallon buckets.......hope you like to eat a LOT of salad........Enjoy!!!!



ChristopherWhy is it that Ranch Dressing always tastes so much better in restaurants than in a bottle from the store?
at restaurants, they use powder DIP not the dressing in the bottle. That is why it's different. I love the ones at the restaurants more too. You can buy the power dip at the market. It will tell you how to mix it. It's great and almost as tasty as the restaurants ranch.
I don't know if you can make it taste exactly like the restaurant version. Most restaurants (Denny's for example) mix their ranch from powder added to mayonnaise. Try buying the hidden valley ranch packets and mixing it at home. I think you'll be closer to the taste you want.
Great question.... I think it might be the ingredients used in the salad. And most likely they use the same type bottle salad dressing. I use any and all of the ranch dressing offered in the store and depending on the salad I have managed to have the same creamy taste. Personally for my salad I pour some ranch dressing in a small bowl and add a small amount of milk, seems to make it creamier and I like the taste.
I think it's just your imagination, unless you go to a restaurant where they make their own dressing. If they don't, it is most likely from the bottle, as well.



Perhaps it's the SALAD! Whatever you eat at home just doesn't taste as good.
Make it from the powdered mix (Hidden Valley for example) instead of buying the bottled ranch. It is much closer to what you get at a restaurant.
Probably a combination of the atmosphere of being in a nice restaurant and the ambiance plus they add more fat to the recipe so you will loooove it and come back!! :)
bottled dressings contain vinegar and other preservatives. most restaurants make it with a powder mix, buttermilk and mayonnaise.
fresh ingredients win over preservatives EVERY TIME
That is a odd one, I find that most of the times most restraunts use a brand name dressing be it (Hidden Valley,Kens,WishBone,etc.) perhaps because the portions at the restraunts are usually very small compared to the size of the salad that is why it doesn't taste sour. Try using less on your salads at home. Hidden Vally though is very good, hands down the best ranch
try going to the natural foods area of your store. there are general a better grade of dressing by the vegetables in the open coolers.



check the fat content, the more fat the better it general taste.



to answer your question, really good restaurant dressing is made fresh and has lots of fat content.
Most restaurants just have a huge bottle, but, they go through it very fast, so its fresher than the bottle you have sitting at home.

veganism

lake compounce