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Like most other culinary favorites of millions of gourmets, ranch sauce was invented by chance. Its author is farmer Steve Hanson, who has never harbored any special feelings for cooking.
At first, an inventive American treated only family members, as well as visiting guests to his ranch, with a novelty. The novelty was so appealing to visitors that they agreed to buy such an unusual supplement, if only to enjoy some more. The enterprising man decided to follow the advice of tourists and put the simplest mixture of buttermilk and mayonnaise on a production stream. So he managed to make a huge fortune. This is explained by the incredible popularity of refueling. It can only be compared with mayonnaise, which is absorbed in unimaginable quantities by people from the CIS countries.
The main advantage of the relative novelties of the world of cooking is the ability to use it as a supplement to almost any salad. Due to the reduced calorie ratio, than his closest fellow – mayonnaise, creamy ranch sauce began to be in demand among the weight watchers. Connoisseurs of filling also note its fresh taste.
The perfect combination
The main components of the mixture are just mayonnaise and buttermilk. They have equal proportions, diluted with a small amount of dry herbs, pepper, as well as dried onions, garlic.
After the find of Mr. Hanson gained incredible popularity, it was decided to launch a separate line of products. It involved the sale of components in the form of ready-made dry powder. Cooking was only required to mix the contents of the bag with equal proportions of the base.
Due to the development of the food industry, many healthy lifestyle fans are afraid to buy ready-made sauce offers. Instead, they are looking for how to cook ranch sauce on their own. This will avoid the use of chemicals that enhance the taste and other elements completely unnecessary to the body.
Despite the existence of the original cooking option, many modifications have been born today. Gourmets are advised to try at least a few of them to decide on the best.
Americans who do not represent their life without a ranch sometimes joke, saying that you can add it anywhere, except in sweetness. Even if they do not want to pour the finished dish, it is allowed to dip almost everything edible into it:
- vegetables;
- nuggets;
- bread;
- homemade chips, crackers.
If you change the proportions of the consistency, you get an ideal fill for vegetable salads, fish, meat dishes with baking.
Cooking Rules
Despite the abundance of reading the original, they all provide for identical principles of preparation.
Employed housewives will especially appreciate the fact that the recipe does not provide for the need to carry out the ingredients through heat treatment. Thanks to this, even a novice in the kitchen can cope with the task.
The classic recipe provides for the presence of buttermilk. But not all stores can please with a similar product. Cooks have to go to the trick, using its Slavic counterpart – sour cream.
It is better to use homemade sour cream than purchased. The latter is usually much more acidic, which can negatively affect the taste characteristics. If it seems that the tandem will be greasy, you can replace it with yogurt. Unsweetened homemade yogurt can be the best solution.
Another underwater stone will be the purchase of chives. It really differs from the usual green onions, to which the Russian-speaking majority is accustomed. But since it can only be found in specialized organic food supermarkets, one has to be content with a standard analogue with more pronounced taste characteristics.
If you want to treat yourself to a delicious addition as a separate dish to the main one, it is better to cool it first. After “stopping” in the refrigerator, it will be much tastier. But keeping it there for more than two days in the hope of “eating it sometime later” is a bad idea. It is best to use the algorithm: “cooked today – immediately ate.”
When at home it is difficult to find the ingredients for a complete meal, but there is a ranch, you can even get by with just boiled potatoes. It turns out tasty and original at the same time. It will work especially well if you spend a little more time baking potatoes on the grill or in the oven.
Good against harm
Many beginners are frightened by the unfamiliar word buttermilk indicated in the original composition. In fact, it’s just nonfat cream, which acts as waste after the butter has been cooked. If the chef can find it, then usually it is implemented on an “as is” basis without any additions.
If we talk about the sale of buttermilk put on stream, then there are options for combining with beneficial bacteria. Such a drink is similar to milk externally, but tastes closer to yogurt.
In ordinary life, it is used for the most part in large productions when creating:
- baking;
- confectionery;
- cheese
American ladies love to pour it into soups to enhance a pleasant aftertaste. There is a place for buttermilk in stews, where it will replace fatter sour cream.
Having understood the intricacies of using and preparing an important component of the ranch, it becomes clear that it can hardly be called really harmful. The danger may be that the use of immeasured quantities that can harm the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Such a fill is better to postpone until better times, those who seek to lose those extra pounds. Also you should carefully choose mayonnaise. An ideal solution would be to prepare it independently, since this will exclude various additives of chemical origin.
Despite the fact that even the simplest homemade recipe provides spices, a dish with moderate eating has a beneficial effect on the stabilization of the digestive system. It is only necessary to guard those who suffer from diseases associated with the liver or pancreas.
The original recipe
The presented variation is good in itself, or for pizza, baked chicken. The composition provides for:
- on 125 g of mayonnaise with buttermilk;
- 50 g chives, replaced by the usual green;
- 10 g salt;
- 30 g dried parsley;
- 5 of allspice.
At first it is proposed to mix the main components duet until the result looks uniform. Next, you need to thoroughly wash the onions and chop it. The resulting result is mixed with white mass.
Only after that can you add parsley, milled allspice and salt. Having mixed almost ready mix, it is shift in a bowl, densely covering with a food wrap. In this position, the ranch should be cooled in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
But to decide whether to pour it into a sauceboat, or use it to fill the salad is everyone’s business.
Version for the lazy
If you do not want or can not find the original buttermilk, this is not a reason to stop trying to create the perfect sauce. Skilful gourmets have created an alternative plan, providing for:
- a quarter liter of mayonnaise;
- 125 ml of sour cream;
- 5 g of dried parsley, onion, dill, garlic in powder;
- if there is – a pinch of dried onion powder.
Salt and ground black pepper are added at your own discretion.
First, the spices are mixed together, and then the white base. You need to add spices to the base, and not vice versa, achieving a good consistency when mixed.
But here you should prepare for the fact that its calorie content will be higher than the original. Thanks for this should be sour cream.
Modify the sauce is not worth it. Simply try to add some extra spice each time to find the right balance for yourself. Moreover, it is allowed to replace ready onion and garlic powders with homemade ones. To do this, finely ground ingredients are dried in an oven or a special setting at a minimum temperature of about 14 hours. But since this process can be extended, not everyone agrees to waste time, and buy bags with ready-made contents.
The ranch is great for both holiday meals and a casual menu, delighting the eaters with a savory taste.