The ranch is the most loved salad dressing by Americans. The creamy, savory flavor dressing tastes excellent with leafy vegetables and chicken.
Though plenty of packaged ranch dressings are available in the market, they can even be prepared at home. The homemade ranch is fun to make. Easy to prepare, gluten-free, and vegan, the homemade ranch can be made in 5 to 10 minutes.
When talking about ranch manufacturing companies, they focus more on convenience & shelf life than taste and flavor. And this is why their product is dissatisfied with the consumers. This is why most consumers prefer homemade ranch dressing, but their only confusion is – for how long does homemade ranch last? Will it last for about a month or two or go sour and tasteless in just a few days? Or it will go bad in some days.
This handy guide will answer your query and let you know more about the ranch, its uses, and why a homemade version is better than the one available in packaged forms.
What Is Ranch?
Ranch or ranch salad dressing is a lightened, creamy & sour sauce typically used for dressing or tossing salad veggies. It has a creamy combination of smoothly blended sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, onions, chives, dill parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt.
Founded in the mid-90s, the sauce became the US’s most used and famous salad dressing. There are two versions of ranch typically; one is usually in thicker consistency, often used as a dip, and the other is a thinner one, often used as a salad dressing.
Uses of Ranch
The ranch is usually used to add creamy, sour flavors to food. It adds creaminess to food items such as pizza, potato chips, french fries, potato wedges, fried chicken, and so on.
It can also be tossed with green veggies such as spinach, lettuce, celery, broccoli & peas and served as a salad. Furthermore, it can be an add-on to your everyday meal. It can uplift the taste of any food and can be consumed by almost everyone. In the US, children and teens love to have a ranch in the morning, breakfast, a sandwich, or toast.
The only drawback of the ranch is that it is high in fat and suitable for everyone on a diet. People on a diet must check their nutrition level and the quantity before consuming it.
For How Long Does Homemade Ranch Last In Refrigerator?
Now, you must be thinking that for how long does homemade ranch last? Do you need to consume it immediately, or can you store it for days or weeks?
The answer to the above questions is that a freshly prepared homemade ranch can be stored in air-tight containers and refrigerated for at least a week or two. If you wish to use ranch dressing for more than two weeks, then it is better to prepare it with buttermilk instead of regular milk. Ranch sauces/dips prepared with buttermilk can last more than four weeks.
Make sure to close the container properly after every use whenever you take them out of the fridge. This way, your sauce or dressing will last long, and no air will sit on it. Bonus tip – always smell it before consuming; if it starts smelling curdled or you notice yellow discoloration, it is not good to drink.
Closing Notes
As mentioned above, the ranch is one of the favorite condiments for Americans. Most households consume it in the US. It is creamy and flavourful and can uplift any snack, side dish, or salad. And when talking about how it is consumed, most Americans prefer to DIY their ranch sauces, dips, or dressing in bulk and store it in air-tight containers to consume for weeks. When stored for weeks, please ensure it is spoilage free, which are the signs of mold growth, off smell, and discoloration. If you start noticing all these, do not consume that ranch as it might affect your health later.