i made ranch, ketchup and mustard at home...is it WORTH IT?

Esther Khamishon, June 2025

today we will compare home-made versions and store-bought favorites:

RANCH (recipes from wishbone kitchen, Professor Anne-Marie Gloster, Ronin's momma VS hidden valley)

KETCHUP (recipe from serious eats VS a good ol' classic Heinz)

CLASSIC YELLOW MUSTARD (recipe from leite's culinaria VS again, Heinz)

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let's start with a cult favorite: RANCH!!!!

4 ranches...4 recipes...4 scores...WHICH ONE WINS?

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RANCH #1 recipe (from wishbone kitchen):

ingredients:

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup mayo

1/4 cup finely chopped chives

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tbs finely grated shallot

1 medium garlic clove, grated

kosher salt and pepper

link to buy the book!

steps:

1) mix!!!!

note:

i love wishbone kitchen. i pre-ordered her cookbook months in advance, knowing that this ranch recipe would be in there. this recipe is not available online, so i am sharing this somewhat illictly to my very small but mighty co of estie and ro. that being said, get her cookbook. it is stunning and gorgeous and perfect and watch out for future dinner party posts completley inspired by my idol: wishbone kitchen, commonly known as meredith hayden.

RANCH #2 recipe (from professor anne-marie gloster...spoiler alert this was my favorite):

look at my pretty chives

ingredients:

3/4 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup mayo

2/3 cup sour cream

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dry tarragon

1 tbs chopped fresh chives

1 tbs fresh dill

1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

steps:

1. mix it all together

2. enjoy!!!

   
   
   
   

RANCH #3 recipe (from ronin's mom):

easy peasy lemon squeezY

recipe verbatim from ronin's mom:

1 packet of ranch mix into bowl

1 small container of sour cream into bowl

Add mayonnaise (Dukes) into empty sour cream container to measure, then add to bowl

note:

the whole ranch packet made the dip veryyy salty, start with less and add more if needed

RANCH #4 ingredients (hidden valley):

ingredients:

vegetable oil (soybean and/or canola), water, buttermilk, sugar, salt, less than 1% of: spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xantham gum, monosodium glutamate, natural flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid and calcium disodiumedta added to preserve freshness, disodium inosinate & guanylate

note:

one of the top reasons i wanted to test making my own condiments is to avoid processed food when i can. this is a hefty list of additives, so if the home made version is up-to-par on flavor this will be an important staple change in my fridge.

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FOUR (very amateur) TASTE TESTERS RANK THE RANCHES:

to insinuate my four taste testers to participate in the ranch experiment, i made a big chicken wing dinner with which to enjoy the plethera of ranches. to allow the flavor of the ranches to shine, the testers first had to taste each ranch with a carrot stick before digging into the wings (btw the wings were absolutely perfect, i braised them in pickle juice and i still can't stop thinking about them). and fine, i'll be completely transparent, my taste testers were also my best friends, but i'm always looking for a way to bring people i love around a dinner table. this seemed to be a perfect excuse and created a wonderful evening for all of us. i hope that someone reading this can recreate this experience in their own home, it was loads of fun.

ranch tasting dinner party...hell yea

back to business. these women took my test very seriously, even asking for little spoons to test each ranch on its own, going back and forth between ranches, patiently comparing and silently nodding. i also should mention that this was a blind test, they did not know which ranch was which. spolier alert: my genius testers almost immediatley sussed out the store bought one...and when directly compared it was not nearly as good as the homemade ones, oh no. anyway, the BEST part about this ranch-filled feast is that everyone had a different favorite, truly there is a perfect ranch for everyone! my testers filled out their very professional tasting cards with delicate precision and care...these are there results!!

RANCH #1 (wishbone kitchen's recipe):

overall score: 7.25/10

we had mixed results for this one!! this was a clear favorite for one of my testers, ali. thank you wishbone kitchen!! this ranch was quite VINEGARY which gave it a tang that some loved, and some did not. i like this test because i could tell which ranches everybody loved without even using the tasting cards. ali had to refill this ranch three times during our feast...if that says anything.

comments: "reminds me of a ranchy vinaigrette", "zesty, different than classic, but keep coming back for more", "sweet bsistency, ut in a better way, love the citrus-y, a little watery"

RANCH #2 (professor anne-marie gloster's recipe):

overall score: 8.3/10

this one is my personal favorite, it tasted so fresh but still creamy. the dill lovers adored it, the people with a less comprehensive pallet didn't love it as much (KIDDING!!) also perfect consistency. overall consensus that it is loooads better than hidden valley hands down. as the person who made it, also very worth the time and effort. nobody deserves to eat bad ranch.

caught one of my testers cheating...peakin' over at another paper. do we forgive her?

comments: "dilly-love the dill. good consistency", "fire, good consistency, less tangy but in a good way" "dilly-amazing consistency and sits on carrot nice"

RANCH #3 (ronin's mom recipe):

overall score: 7.1

full disclosure, this one is more of a ranch dip than a regular ranch. it is thick. it is salty. it might be cheating, it uses a ranch packet. if that bothers you, don't make it. if the 500 ingredients in the other recipes bother you, then make this one. ronin's mom reiterated many times over the phone, you MUST use duke's mayo. so keep that in mind. one of my testers, sophia, was absolutley OBSESSED with this ranch. she called it the "airy one". can you pass the airy one? oh no the airy one is gone, can you refill it? she couldn't get over how airy it is, did you add whipped cream? marshmellow fluff? no sophia, it's just DUKE'S MAYO!! i gave her the entire jar to take home and she sent back the empty jar less than 24 hours later. the airy one will forever be sophia's ranch.

stay tuned to see if it's better than the home-made version

comments: "very salty, i like how butter-like it is, but can't eat too much", "airy and creamy, can't rate it against the others bc it would serve a different purpose", "superr thick, salty, for sure love the creamy"

RANCH #4 (good ol' hidden valley)

overall score: 4/20

i was honestly shocked at how much worse this tasted in comparison to the others. i've never had anything against hidden valley, now i do. so mid. in this case, the additives and flavor enhancers are not worth it. if you care about my opinion, and you want good store-bought ranch, opt for the ken's steakhouse ranch.

comments: "store-bought fs. tastes like something you would get in a veggie platter", "too sweet and thick"", "nothing special"

THIS is the good stuff. pesto cheesy bread from pizza mart served with ken's ranch. they know what's up.

takeaways!!

-making ranch at home is WORTH IT, skip the additivies, get a yummier sauce, and don't spend too much time doing it

-if you like tang, try ranch #1

-if you like herbs, try ranch #2

-if you don't like either, take the herbs out of ranch #2, or add less lemon in ranch #1

-if you want ease and convenience, try ranch #3

-everyone has a ranch that is perfect for them, have fun and experiment w it!!

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onto the next...KETCHUP!!

2 KETCHUPS...ONE CAREFULLY TESTED RECIPE AND AN UNBEATABLE CLASSIC

KETCHUP #1 (recipe from serious eats, carefully tested using culinary science techniques):

ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 28 oz can tomato purée

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tbs tomato paste

1/2 tsp kosher sakt

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

steps:

1. heat oil and cook onion until softened, about 5-8 min.

2. add garlic and stir

3. add tomato purée and all the rest of the ingredients

4. bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally

5. blend thouroughly and pass through fine mesh strainer

note: taste and season as you go!

she's not very pretty...keep reading to see if it tastes better than it looks

my personal opinions

guys...i'm sorry to say...this really just tasted like marinara sauce. i'm sure that there are adjustments that can be made to better the proportion of sweet to vinegary to spicy, but this just didn't really do it for me. don't get me wrong, it was tasty, but not worth the effort. i'd rather stick to heinz and put my blood sweat and tears into a great pasta sauce.

when life gives you ketchup that tastes like marinara...turn it into pizza

another party came out of this experiment, pizza party!! nothing goes to waste in my kitchen, so i cut the sugar of the ketchup with lots of lemon and a splash of vinegar. i added basil, oregano, garlic and red pepper flakes, and there you have it!!! a wonderful marinara sauce that worked perfectly as a base for an oniony prosciutto and burrata pizza. my mouth is watering.

KETCHUP #2 (heinz):

ingredients:

tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, natural flavor

takeaways:

-maybe the high fructose corn syrup is just irreplaceable when it comes to flavor, don't they purposely make the perfect ratios to make it as addicting as it is?

-i will continue to be a heinz ketchup purchaser

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onto ketchup's cool older sister...MUSTARD

will this home-made mustard become a staple in my search to create the perfect hot dog?

MUSTARD #1 (recipe from leite's culinaria):

ingredients:

1 cup cold water

3/4 cup yellow dry mustard powder

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp garlic purée or 1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp paprika

1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

steps:

1) place all the ingredients except the vinegar in a small nonreactive saucepan and whisk until combined

2) cook on low heat until the mixture turns to the conistency of mustard, 30-45 minutes

my personal opinion:

i LOVE mustard. this mustard was PUNGENT. this mustard was SPICY. this mustard had PERSONALITY. i have not used store-bought mustard on my daily sandwiches since i made this. guys, WORTH IT. when this one runs out, i am going to try to make honey mustard by adding honey after the vinegar.

MUSTARD #2 (heinz):

ingredients:

distilled white vinegar, mustard seed, water, salt, turmeric, spices, natural flavor

takeaways:

-it is not hard to recreate the flavor of a classic yellow mustard without the additives

-homemade mustard is definitley more pungent, keep that in mind

-making mustard is STINKY, make sure to ventilate your kitchen as its cooking

-WORTH IT. yes it takes time and its more expensive than generic yellow mustard, but the difference is there. make it and try for yourself!

A QUICK OVERVIEW

this is just the beginning. testing these three condiments has me inspired to take it further: barbecue sauce, fry sauce, teriyaki sauce, relish, limitless possibilites!! i was always a firm believer that making anything from scratch is better, this was a fun way to prove myself both right and wrong!! home made ranch will be a fridge staple from now on, ketchup will stay in the bottle we all know and love in the back of the fridge, and i will continue to experiment with mustard to find my favorite version to make at home. thank you for coming on this journey with me, and don't forget to follow @estieandro for more (less wordy) content!!

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