These Hidden Valley Ranch Packets Have a 1-Ingredient Difference, But One Tastes Way Better

In the U.S., it’s no surprise that ranch took the top spot for the most popular salad dressing according to a 2017-2018 survey by The Association of Salad Dressings and Sauces. It’s incredibly versatile, both as a creamy dressing for salads, as a dip for pizza and wings, or as a marinade. But the ingredients in the little ranch packets aren’t exactly the same as when the recipe was first written, and there’s one ingredient that makes the dressing even more delicious now. 

The original recipe was developed by Steve Henson in the 1950s during his time as an occasional cook on a construction crew in Anchorage, Alaska. Because fresh ingredients were sparse, Hensen combined dried herbs, dried onion, and dried garlic, then buttermilk, sour cream, and/or mayonnaise could be added just before serving.

When Henson and his wife opened the Hidden Valley Guest Ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., guests took home these seasoning packets as a souvenir after their steakhouse meal. In just a few years, the dry seasoning mix was being mailed all over the country, and in 1972, the Clorox company bought the rights to the recipe for $8 million.

The ingredients in the seasoning packet have changed a bit since Henson first wrote the recipe and in particular, monosodium glutamate (MSG) is now one of the ingredients. MSG is a (sometimes misunderstood) flavor enhancer and we set out to see if we could taste the difference between the Hidden Valley Ranch packets with and without MSG. Here’s what we found.

HVR Seasoning Packet Taste Test 

Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packets can be purchased with and without MSG. A minor detail you might have overlooked before now. To taste and compare, we prepared each packet as the directions suggested by mixing it with sour cream. Testers then tried the dips on a carrot, cucumber, and plain chip without knowing which dip had MSG and which didn’t.

The results were unanimous. The dip that contained MSG had more pronounced flavors of onion, garlic, dill, and parsley—in other words, the main flavors of ranch dressing. It’s no wonder why it’s actually quite hard to find the packets without MSG (I had to special order it in bulk) because the version with MSG tastes so much better.

One thing to note is the version with MSG actually has more sodium than the version without, so along with having the MSG flavor enhancer, it also has more salt. This could be another reason the version with MSG tastes so much better.

How to Tell the Difference on the Packet

So whether you want to do your own taste test or purposely buy one or the other, you might be wondering how to pick the right seasoning packet. Luckily, it's as simple as looking for the "No MSG Added" notation on the packaging. If you don't see that yellow note, you can assume you're getting the MSG version, before double-checking the ingredients on the back.

Once you're stocked up, you can get your zesty dinner started.