Ranch dressing! It’s a beloved condiment for Americans. While it started as a salad dressing, it’s so much more now—it’s a Doritos flavor, a dipping sauce, a way of life. But how much do we know about the original ranch brand, Hidden Valley? Let’s explore the valley and seek out some answers.
Who owns Hidden Valley Ranch?
Today’s Hidden Valley is, like the vast majority of food products in your grocery store, one tendril of a gigantic company. In this case, the company in question is the Clorox Company. While their portfolio contains other brands as diverse as Burt’s Bees, Rainbow Light supplements, and Glad plastic products, the name obviously connotes their flagship product, Clorox. And while Clorox is undeniably a well-known brand, you don’t really want it associated with food, which helps explain why Hidden Valley doesn’t advertise its Clorox connection.
When was Hidden Valley Ranch invented?
Hidden Valley was created by plumber-turned-cowboy Steve Henson and his wife Gayle in a real place called…Hidden Valley. According to the Hidden Valley website, they “purchased 120 acres of sprawling land nestled in the mountains outside of Santa Barbara, California, and started a dude ranch. Over the years, Steve had been perfecting his signature salad dressing, a tangy blend of buttermilk, savory herbs and spices.”
And people loved his dressing! It became so popular that the Hensons began a mail-order business, sending packets of ranch across the country. In 1972, Clorox purchased the company for $8 million dollars.
Where is Hidden Valley Ranch made?
Today, Hidden Valley Ranch is no longer made in the California valley from whence it got its name. Instead, according to the Food Network, it is made in “another scenic valley,” slightly further east, near Reno, Nevada.
Where is Hidden Valley Ranch?
The real Hidden Valley Ranch was located outside Santa Barbara, California. It’s actually hard to get more specific than that! According to an SFGate article on the subject, “It’s been sold multiple times over the years, including in 1983 and 1992, when it went for $1.65 million,” but, “No one interviewed for [the] story would reveal the exact location of Hidden Valley Ranch…According to historical records, it’s likely near San Marcos Pass.”
Does Hidden Valley Ranch have mayo?
The ingredients list for Hidden Valley Original Ranch is as follows: “vegetable oil (soybean and/or canola), water, buttermilk, sugar, salt, egg yolk, spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, monosodium glutamate, natural flavors, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA, disodium inosinate, and guanylate.” While the word “mayonnaise” is not listed anywhere, mayo is essentially a combo of oil, egg yolk, acid, and salt, all of which are ingredients in the product.
If you’re mayo-averse, though, you can still enjoy Hidden Valley’s Ranch seasoning packets, and just sub sour cream or Greek yogurt for the mayo.
By the way, if you ever want to try an approximation of the original dressing made at the Hidden Valley Ranch in California, the New York Times has you covered. They have an authentic recreation you can make easily at home (it calls for either mayonnaise or sour cream).
Was there a Hidden Valley Ranch shortage?
If you remember a time when Hidden Valley products seemed to be unavailable, you’re not alone. There was in fact a shortage of their products in October of 2023. And the reason was not hordes of Americans clamoring for ranch dressing, but rather a cyberattack on the Clorox Company.
Once the attack was detected, they shut down systems in order to contain it, including some manufacturing. As a Salon.com article notes, “Representatives from the company have not commented on if it is known who carried out the cyberattack, but as a result of the attack, customers have started reporting shortages across the company’s brands.” One of those brands was Hidden Valley.
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