March 10

National Ranch Day

An annual observance on March 10 celebrating ranch dressing, the best-selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992.

Yearly Date

March 10

Observed in

United States

Introduction

National Ranch Day celebrates a condiment with an unlikely origin: a plumbing contractor named Steve Henson invented the recipe around 1949 while cooking for construction crews in remote Alaska. He mixed buttermilk, mayonnaise, and dried herbs to make bland camp food tolerable.

That workaround became a $1.3 billion annual category. After the Clorox Company acquired Henson's brand for $8 million and developed a shelf-stable bottle, ranch overtook Italian as the country's best-selling dressing in 1992 and has held the top spot for over three decades.

National Ranch Day History

Ranch dressing was invented by accident. Around 1949, Steve Henson was working as a plumbing contractor in remote Alaska, cooking for his construction crews in camps far from any restaurant or grocery store. He mixed buttermilk, mayonnaise, dried herbs, and garlic into a dressing that made bland camp food palatable. The recipe was never intended for commercial use.

In 1954, Henson and his wife Gayle moved to California and purchased a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, naming it Hidden Valley Ranch. They served the dressing to guests, who liked it enough to buy jars and dry seasoning packets to take home. Word spread through mail order, and demand soon outpaced what the Hensons could produce from their ranch kitchen.

From ranch kitchen to Clorox

In 1972, the Clorox Company, best known for bleach, acquired Hidden Valley Ranch Food Products for $8 million. The purchase seemed unusual at the time, but Clorox recognized the brand's growth potential. Their critical innovation came in 1983, when food scientists developed a shelf-stable bottled version that eliminated the need for consumers to mix dry packets themselves. The bottled format transformed ranch from a specialty product into a mass-market staple.

The rise to dominance

In 1992, ranch overtook Italian as the best-selling salad dressing in the United States, a position it has never relinquished. But ranch did not stop at salads. Americans began using it as a dipping sauce for pizza, chicken wings, vegetables, and french fries, expanding its consumption far beyond what any salad dressing had achieved before. A plumber's workaround for bad camp food became a category of its own.

National Ranch Day Timeline

~1949

Steve Henson invents the recipe in Alaska

Steve Henson, a plumbing contractor, created a buttermilk-based dressing to feed his construction crews working in remote Alaska. The recipe combined buttermilk, mayonnaise, dried herbs, and garlic.

1954

Hidden Valley Ranch opens in California

Steve and Gayle Henson purchased a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, California, and named it Hidden Valley Ranch. Guests who tried the dressing began asking to buy jars and dry seasoning packets to take home.

1972

Clorox acquires Hidden Valley Ranch

The Clorox Company purchased Hidden Valley Ranch Food Products, Inc. for $8 million. The acquisition gave a household chemical company control of America's fastest-growing condiment brand.

1983

First shelf-stable bottle hits stores

Clorox developed a bottled version of ranch dressing that did not require refrigeration before opening. This eliminated the need for dry seasoning packets and brought ranch to every supermarket shelf in the country.

1992

Ranch becomes the #1 selling dressing

Ranch surpassed Italian as the best-selling salad dressing in the United States, a position it has held for over three decades. The shift marked a permanent change in American condiment preferences.

How to Celebrate National Ranch Day

1

Make ranch from scratch

Mix buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder, chives, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors develop. Steve Henson's original Hidden Valley recipe is still available online.
2

Run a ranch taste test

Buy three to five different ranch brands, including at least one store brand and one restaurant-style version. Taste them blind and rate them on thickness, tanginess, and herb flavor. The results may surprise you.
3

Try ranch on something unexpected

Ranch has fans who put it on pizza, tacos, eggs, popcorn, and even fruit. Pick something you have never paired with ranch and try it. The Hidden Valley recipe collection has combinations you would not expect.
4

Read the full origin story

Read the origin story on the Hidden Valley website to see how a plumber's Alaska camp recipe became a billion-dollar industry. The story includes a $8 million sale to a bleach company and a food science breakthrough.
5

Visit the original Hidden Valley location

The original Hidden Valley Ranch was located near Santa Barbara, California, in the San Marcos Pass area. While the dude ranch no longer operates, the region remains one of the most scenic areas along the Central California coast.

Why We Love National Ranch Day

A

It is the best-selling dressing in the country for over 30 years

Ranch dressing has held the #1 position among U.S. salad dressings since 1992, when it overtook Italian. No other dressing has come close to reclaiming the top spot in more than three decades. National Ranch Day marks an American food preference that has proven remarkably durable.
B

It represents a $1.3 billion market category

Ranch dressing generates approximately $1.3 billion in annual sales in the United States. The category extends beyond bottles to include ranch-flavored chips, seasoning packets, dipping sauces, and restaurant-specific formulations. A single condiment invented in an Alaskan construction camp now supports an entire product ecosystem.
C

It redefined how Americans use condiments

Ranch was the first salad dressing to become a universal dipping sauce. Americans apply it to pizza, chicken wings, french fries, vegetables, and foods that never had a standard condiment pairing. National Ranch Day recognizes a product that changed the role of dressings from salad-specific to all-purpose.