Many people are dismayed that ranch dressing seems to taste better when they eat out than it does in the confines of their kitchen. The key difference between the bottled ranch in your kitchen and the ranch that's served in restaurants comes down to one major factor.

When you make the famous dressing from a dry packet, you add fresh dairy products, including mayonnaise, milk, and perhaps buttermilk or sour cream. Bottled ranch, however, substitutes oil for dairy to make the dressing shelf-stable, which makes a crucial difference — without the dairy, the dressing loses the creaminess that makes it so craveable.

If you are frustrated because you haven't been able to replicate restaurant ranch dressing at home, head to the grocery store and grab a packet of the classic Ranch dry mix, buttermilk, mayo, sour cream, fresh chives, and garlic. Then simply follow the directions on the Hidden Valley website for restaurant-style ranch.