Getting To The Bottom Of Pizza And Ranch
Chances are, either you’re a fan or you’ve witnessed someone doing it – dipping pizza in ranch dressing. Our Bloomington Indiana pizza can be enjoyed any way you like it, but even we at Bucceto’s want to know just where this pizza and ranch trend comes from!
How And When Did It Start?
Pizza and ranch aren’t long-time friends; they weren’t made to go together. This pairing isn’t like French fries and ketchup, Italian dressing on an Italian sub, or barbecue sauce on chicken – it’s far from a classic combo, even if it’s well on its way to becoming one. How and when did it start? Well, it depends on who you ask.
One story places the pizza and ranch trend in Washington DC, where local college students began experimenting with different ways to try the food they ate the most in the early aughts. According to Taste of Home, the trend actually started right here in the Midwest. When patrons at Italian restaurants would order a salad and a plate of breadsticks to start their meal experience, they’d get a bit of ranch to dress the salad and dip the bread. With a bit of leftover ranch on the table, the dipping started with the pizza crust and slowly moved to the whole pie.
There is no “official” history in regard to pizza and ranch, but many are quick to claim the inventor title!
Why It Works
With our dozens of toppings at Bucceto’s, we and our owner Paul Heilbrunn have a healthy respect for a good unique flavor combination! While pizza and ranch might seem like an odd couple at first, the flavors really work quite well with each other when you think about it.
Pizza is full of robust flavors. You first get that taste of the cheese, warm, salty, and a little fatty coating the entire mouth. After the cheese you get your first taste of the sauce, with its tangy acidity and a touch of delightful sweetness. Holding it all together is the crust, which is filling, comforting, and perfectly neutral. That’s a lot of heavy flavors, and with bite after bite, your palate may grow used to the experience without a good cleanser.
The palate cleanser is where the ranch comes in. Ranch has a bright, herbal, and rich flavor perfect for waking up the taste buds and clearing out the rich flavors of your last bite of pizza. It’s cool, refreshing, and it clears quickly; hypothetically giving you your “first bite” with every bite.
At Bucceto’s, we respect whichever way you want to eat your pizza. We make our own in-house buttermilk herb ranch, and we can’t wait to hear how you love it on our Bloomington, Indiana pizza with your next order!