The flavor. Nasty. I guess it 's the buttermilk. I love salad, and it’s just an awful coverup. I want something subtle, which is why I make my own dressing.
Ranch is not exclusive to salads.
In fact, I think that’s the worst way to use ranch.
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And yet, ranch on congee??
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Well, congee is pretty bland.
Basically a blank canvas to play with.
Tiramisu comes with its on palette (or is it “palate”?) of flavors built-in.
I’ve yet to find an acceptable bottled dressing for those times when I don’t feel like making my own (for a quick lunch where I don’t have the time or leisure).
The least offensive I’ve found (from an SE taste comparison or elsewhere online) is the Marzetti’s Supreme Caesar from the refrigerated section. That said, the small bottle has been sitting in the fridge since I bought it in November, and has been used once 
I haven’t even made any Caesar in recent memory.
Perhaps I should simply start making enough dressing/vinaigrette for more than one salad at a time to save me some labor every night 
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Yes you should, my fridge is full of homemade dressings.
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I have sort of a perpetual vinaigrette going on in my fridge. I usually start with a little dijon, red wine vinegar, grated garlic, maybe herbs, then olive or sunflower oil. After dinner it goes back in the fridge and I top it off next time I need salad dressing. Random, yes. Convenient, also yes.
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Happens here, too eventually I toss the remains of my vinaigrette and start over. I will admit that when the salad is just for me and I’m lazy, I often just pour on a little olive oil, squeeze some lemon over, perhaps add a pinch of salt, and toss. Pepper goes on at the plate.
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We don’t use it too often, but always have a bottle of Ken’s in the fridge (usually, about the time someone decides they want some on a salad, it’s a bit past use-by date). For veggie dip, we usually use some kind of sour cream based dip (without the buttermilk and mayo that would make it Ranch).
I’ve never tried Ranch with pizza but might give it a go. Growing up, a local pizzeria chain served a sweet red dressing (like a Catalina) for dipping their crispy thin-crust pizza.
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My “basic” vinaigrette is finely diced shallot, sometimes a clove of crushed garlic, vinegar depends on my mood (I have WWV, RWV, champagne vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic - the latter I probably use the least), spicy brown mustard or walnut mustard, s&p, tiny pinch of sugar, fresh herbs if around, oil choice also depends on the final product desired - I have safflower, toasted walnut, toasted hazelnut, 2 olive oils. Sometimes, mayo & Greek yogurt or sour cream/crème fraîche.
I really oughta just make a bottle of a basic vinaigrette to have around. D’oh.
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Interesting rankings from Serious Eats. Ranked together are room-temp bottled (on one hand), and the refrigerated stuff and the Hidden Valley Ranch packet mix-up-at-home version (on the other hand).
Notably, they had their blind tasters rank on a 1-10 scale and not a single one of the 9 bottled shelf stable that they tested scored even a 5/10.
Of the bottled shelf stable, the best was Ken’s (4.9) and the two worst were HVR (2.8) and Whole Foods 365 brand (2.1 (!!)). Kraft’s was rated a bit better at 3.4.
Of the refrigerated stuff (only 4 tested including the HVR DIY packet), the HVR came out best (5.3), and Trader Joe’s was worst at 3.6.
For reference, about half of the bottled shelf stable stuff came in lower than 3.6.
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I got Ken’s based on this and didn’t like it.
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I think the aversion to bottled ranch (be it HVR or Kraft @bbqboy), I think is the fact that it is bottled more than anything else.
I really can’t think of a bottled dressing, for salad or otherwise, that really appeals to me, partly because of the use of binders (xanthum gum), preservatives (calcium chloride), but mostly because most bottled dressings have as their first two ingredients, soybean oil or water.
I know personally when I am making dressing at home – be it ranch or anything else - I don’t ever start with either soybean oil or water. Heck, most of the time neither of those ingredients are even used, much less as the primary base.
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My go to is https://shop.momofuku.com/blogs/recipes/ramp-ranch-dressing
You can sub bottled cocktail onions for pickled ramps
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I think most who are used to making their own, homemade, will find the bottled stuff lacking. But it [Ken’s, I mean] seems to be a lot better than some. Most at the bottom of that SE list actually have water as the first ingredient, then add back in gums to thicken.
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That is a great recipe, and I’ve made it more than once. I make ranch dressing a few times a year. I like it a lot. Not gonna dip pizza crust in it, though.
Nope. Blue cheese. Ranch on a Buffalo wing is a crime against upstate NY.
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Last night I was invited to a friend’s place to watch the college football championship game. He had a bunch of wings delivered and wing sauce, ranch, and blue cheese dressings were all delivered in abundance.
I ate my wings with blue cheese. As a result I second guessed myself about ranch being the natural partner for Buffalo wings. Honestly I eat chicken wings so infrequently that I shouldn’t have even opened my mouth on this subject.
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Pretty indifferent towards it. Only time it’s used in my home is if I’m hosting a holiday because my mom loves it, so then I’ll make some for her. I don’t dislike it, but never something I personally reach for as a dip or a salad dressing.
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There needs to be a surprised pikachu face reaction for posts on this forum. Or in this case, a gag/wretch reaction might also do.
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