The Black Cowboy Entrepreneur Who Invented Ranch Dressing

person dipping celery in ranch dip
Via Pexels
Briona Lamback
January 15, 2025

Steve Henson, a plumber from a small Nebraska town, took a temporary job in Alaska in 1950. While there, he occasionally cooked. Eventually, Henson and his wife moved to California and opened a ranch called Hidden Valley. Then, he whipped up the most delicious part of his legacy.

Hidden Valley was a guest house with a popular steakhouse. But, everyone's favorite souvenir was Henson's popular dressing, Ranch. Guests loved it so much that they carried it home in mayonnaise jars. Henson began to sell and mail the dried ingredients to customers, so they could add their own buttermilk and mayonnaise at home. And Henson’s success didn't stop there.

While it had been a longtime favorite in Henson's California town, the dressing’s popularity spread across the country, and so did how people enjoyed it. By 1986, it was no longer just a salad dressing; this savory product changed the snacking game.

Cool Ranch Doritos. The corn-based chips were infused with creamy onion flavor, becoming even more popular and influencing how people use Ranch today–from a pizza topping to a dip for ribs and wings. But this story is about more than the love of Ranch.

It celebrates our people's ingenuity and impeccable taste. It also reminds us that the world would be a lot less seasoned without our genius.

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