By Brian Hews
June 23, 2026
As millions of international visitors arrive in the United States for FIFA World Cup matches, many are getting their first taste of one of America’s most beloved condiments: ranch dressing.
What started as a social media joke has become a genuine cultural curiosity. Videos across TikTok, Instagram, and X show visitors from Europe, South America, and Asia trying ranch for the first time, often expressing surprise that Americans use it on everything from salads and pizza to chicken wings, French fries, vegetables, and even sandwiches.
The fascination has become so widespread that some food brands and travel companies have leaned into the trend. Travel-sized bottles of ranch dressing have appeared in online promotions, while restaurants near World Cup venues report increased orders from curious tourists eager to see what all the fuss is about.
Ranch dressing was created in the 1950s by Steve Henson and eventually became America’s best-selling salad dressing. Today, Americans consume hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ranch products annually.
For many foreign visitors, however, the concept remains amusing.
One viral social media post joked that visiting America without trying ranch dressing would be like visiting Italy without trying pasta. Another compared ranch to a “national condiment.”
Whether visitors end up loving it or hating it, ranch dressing has unexpectedly become one of the lighter cultural stories surrounding the World Cup, proving once again that food can be just as much a part of the international experience as the matches themselves.
Sources:
https://www.hiddenvalley.com/
https://www.fifa.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/