The McDonald's Dipping Sauce We Avoid Every Time

When enjoying fries and McNuggets at McDonald's, you can choose from a wide selection of dipping sauces to enhance your dining experience. While some McDonald's sauces have reached icon status, such as the chain's coveted Big Mac sauce, others fall well short of customer expectations. According to Daily Meal's ranking of McDonald's dipping sauces, there is one sauce that brought only sadness when combined with classic menu items.

Our reviewer found the chain's creamy ranch sauce failed to satisfy on just about every level. The texture was described as "watery," while the primary flavor component of the ranch was determined to be "salty." This selection was also sorely lacking the herbiness that makes the very best ranch brands stand out. Keep in mind that McDonald's introduced its chicken nuggets with just four sauces, none of which were ranch (instead, customers were given the choice of sweet and sour, hot mustard, barbecue, and honey). It's not clear when the chain added the dipping sauce to the menu, but the decision may have been spurred by ranch's immense popularity, which began when the condiment became the most popular dressing during the early '90s.

Hidden Valley Ranch is generally considered a classic choice when it comes to the creamy, tangy condiment. In fact, the brand even gets namechecked in Daily Meal's review, in which our reviewer cheekily suggests that you "smuggle a bottle of Hidden Valley into your local McDonald's." When comparing McDonald's ranch to Hidden Valley, the ingredients are mostly the same. However, there is one ingredient that shows up in Hidden Valley that is missing from McDonald's ranch.

The Hidden Valley brand contains monosodium glutamate, more commonly known as MSG. This common flavor enhancer has an undeserved bad reputation, although the stigma surrounding MSG is thankfully on the wane. The seasoning is said to impart an umami component into foods — and remember that umami is the fifth taste that accompanies bitter, sweet, sour, and salty. While somewhat hard to define, umami is associated with a rich meatiness, which might explain why Hidden Valley Ranch is leagues beyond what McDonald's has to offer its customers. Just consider that a little MSG is capable of turning mayonnaise into a tasty dip. 

When it comes to the myriad of sauces available at the Golden Arches, our reviewer designated hot mustard as the absolute best. In addition to its versatility, as the dipper "melded well with all three items we tried," (which were regular nuggets, spicy nuggets, and fries), it also offered a nice balance of heat and sweetness. Sadly, hot mustard is not available at all locations, so you may need to look for alternative options when seeking a dipping sauce superior to the chain's paltry ranch offering.

If you're committed to the ranch lifestyle but don't want to suffer through a disappointing dipping session, you may be able to upgrade McDonald's ranch on your own. If you're so inspired, add a bit of spicy Buffalo sauce to the ranch for a multi-faceted flavor. Add the hot sauce a little at a time and be sure to taste your concoction or you might overwhelm the understated ranch with the spicy condiment. If this isn't an acceptable fix, you can always carry a bottle of reliable ranch on your person at all times for any nugget-related emergencies.