Ranch has become near ubiquitous as a pizza dip option at restaurants and chain pizza stores. It's hard to believe there was a time when the combo was an outlier. But it had to start somewhere, and Michigan has a case to make for the position of Pizza/Ranch Pioneer.
There are a couple things we know for sure:
1) Michigan is the chain pizza capital of the world.
2) Michiganders love ranch dressing and all creamy dips.
In fact... you want the perfect ranch recipe for pizza? I got you:
Jet’s-Like Ranch Recipe
1 c. full-fat mayo
½ c. buttermilk
½ c. sour cream
1 packet of Hidden Valley “Restaurant Style” seasoning
You're welcome.
So, then, my fellow ranch hands, isn't it logical that the pizza-and-ranch phenomenon started here? I think so. Particularly because it can't be disproven.
And Hidden Valley Ranch agrees! Vicki Haber, the brand experience lead for Hidden Valley said the ranch company doesn't have hard, empirical evidence about when ranch became a pizza obsession.
"I wish we did," said Haber, "but we don't have that historical data."
Which means there's no reason to believe it couldn't have started right here in Michigan — like, say, for instance, at a high school lunch table in Ann Arbor, as my friends will tell you. In 1992, to be specific.
"I have never heard anything before 1992," said Haber, "and I'm more than happy to come to Ann Arbor to investigate."
Okay, so I actually heard from a listener who first saw this trend at Northville High School in the late 1980s — more on that next week.
But! Michiganders who grew up here in the '80s and '90s oft attest their first encounter with ranch as a dipping sauce for pizza (and fries, and burritos, and everything else) was in the high school cafeteria. And this predates chain pizza restaurants selling ranch as a pizza-specific condiment.
We dip as deep as we can into this tangy question, with a crossover episode from Dough Dynasty, our limited-run series on American chain pizza history.
GUESTS:
- Wesley Taylor, ranch-with-pizza proclaimer
- Scott Wiener, NYC pizza tour leader and pizza historian
- Alex Beggs, freelance food writer
- Vicki Haber, Hidden Valley Ranch brand experience lead
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