I remember one of my first recipes as a teen in the seventies calling for “London Broil” marinated in "French Dressing ". My mother seemed fond of London Broil but I wasn’t and thought I might be able to impove it.
This orange stuff is what I used and it wasn’t great. I’ve often wondered if I misunderstood what was meant by "French Dressing ", and if that’s why I don’t like “London Broil”.
Among other things, I’m pretty sure it was the cut of meat I was using. It certainly wasn’t flank steak. 
Interesting. I’m surprised that a salad dressing was regulated by law - as far as I know, we don’t do similar in the UK. By the by, we use “French Dressing” or vinaigrette fairly interchangeably. I’m a vinaigrette bloke.
French dressing in the US is an creamy orange concoction, as noted by Shrinkrap. I’m unsure of what the connection to France 
is.
Here’s an interesting tale of the origin of Wishbone Italian Dressing and how what you call French became Italian in America.
I recall our first trips to the States in the early 1980s. And ordering French dressing and thinking whatever that is it’s not French dressing. Didnt take too many trips to realise that Italian dressing is much closer to, erm, French dressing. Although I’ve become a Ranch man over the years - which can be a bit of trial and error as it’s not reliably stocked in the UK (at least in the supermarkets where we normally shop).
Anybody knows why it’s called French dressing in the first place? It doesn’t seem particularly French to me with ingredients like ketchup or paprika.
Wikipedia suggests that, during the 19th century, it was called vinaigrette or French dressing (as I mentioned is the case in the UK). It then seems to have become Americanised with the addition of the ingredients. Looks like the name was also Americanised from the French vinaigrette to the English “French dressing”.
In related news, the New York Times has decided that putting tomato sauce and cheese on a piece of French bread makes it a pizza.
So our broke as F#&k meals made out of necessity
are now haute couture…
Every so often someone over there goes nuts. At least this recipe is from an actual chef.
Years later I wondered if I should have been looking for bottled “Italian dressing” which looked much more appropriate. Can you imagine a thick, lean slab of beef bathed in orange cream? Then cooked? I don’t remember if I actually broiled it. A “vinegrette” would have made more sense.
Has anyone actually seen the orange stuff lately? My “kids” keep a bottle of Ranch in the refrigerator.
My mother’s recipe for liver calls for it to be marinated in Italian dressing.
https://www.dorothylynch.com/products/home-style
The quintessential Nebraska and surrounding states salad dressing.
Interesting because they’ve never called it French dressing.
There seems to be various names for the same reddish/orange dressing based on a simple vinaigrette with tomato paste/ketchup added. Catalina is another one. They all look like what is called “French dressing” which for some reason I associate with airline salads and what they served us in grade school. That was around the time that ketchup was declared to be a vegetable so maybe the schools used it to up the quota of vegetables.
I’ve never understood Catalina or Russian dressing. Or Thousand Island, for that matter.
The concept seems to be name your salad dressing after an exotic locale whether or not said location has anything to do with the origin.
Like a ranch!
At least ranch was created on a ranch. Hidden valley ranch in CA.
Nope. It was created in Alaska, by a plumbing contractor who later bought a ranch.
I guess it depends on who’s story you read as with so many things food related. I’ll take your word for it because I don’t really care.
