Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians and Romans tossed their greens with oil and vinegar. Europeans always have preferred their lettuces dressed with light vinaigrettes.

        But we upstart Americans poured a different kind of salad dressing — heavier and often sweeter, usually based on mayonnaise, sour cream or cooked sauces.

        In 1896, Columbus restaurant owner Joe Marzetti was one of the first to serve salad dressing at his restaurant. He later bottled and sold the dressings, and now the T. Marzetti Co. is one of the largest dressing producers.

        Today, according to the Association for Dressings and Sauces, “ranch” is the most popular dressing flavor in the United States, followed by Italian, French, Thousand Island and Caesar.

        But there are regional preferences. In the Midwest, French dressing (the thick, orange kind in the bottle) is the favorite, while Thousand Island is No. 1 in the South. Northeasterners prefer Italian dressing, but Western salad eaters lean toward no particular flavor.

        Here's the history of some of the more familiar salad dressings and recipes — just in case you'd rather make your own instead of buying it in a bottle.

        There is a dispute as to how ranch dressing found its way into the salad bowl, says John Mariani in his Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman; $29.95). The Todds Food Co. in Arizona claims that one of its owners created ranch dressing in 1980 as a dipping sauce for fried zucchini. But the Clorox Co. which now owns the Hidden Valley Ranch brand, says the owners of a dude ranch of the same name near Santa Barbara, Calif., created the ranch-style dressing after World War II.

        Ranch Dressing

        1 clove garlic, peeled
       2 to 3 pinches salt
        3/4 cup buttermilk
       2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
       1 tablespoon minced cilantro or parsley
       1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
       Salt and black pepper, to taste

        Mash garlic and salt together to form paste. Remove to small bowl or jar with lid. Add remaining ingredients and whisk or shake until well-blended. To make a thicker dressing, stir in 1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise or sour cream. Makes 1 cup.

        Russian dressing is pure American, says Mr. Mariani, who believes the thick, pink sauce was so named because it was thought to resemble dressings in Russian salads. The name dates from 1922.
        Russian Dressing
        1/2 cup mayonnaise
        1/4 cup bottled chili sauce
       1 tablespoon chopped pimiento
       1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper
       1 teaspoon chopped chives

        Combine all ingredients and whisk well. Makes about 3/4 cup.

        There are at least two theories on the genesis of Thousand Island — close kin of Russian dressing. One likely story is that the dressing was named for the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, which runs between New York and Ontario, where it was probably created around 1920. Another is that a chef at the Drake Hotel in Chicago first made the dressing, and his wife named it for the famous islands.
        Thousand Island Dressing
        1 cup mayonnaise
        1/4 cup bottled chili sauce or ketchup
       1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
       2 tablespoons minced gherkins or pickle relish
       1 tablespoon minced onion
       1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
       1 tablespoon minced parsley
       Salt and black pepper, to taste

        Stir ingredients together until well-blended. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

        The story behind Green Goddess dressing is most reliable. It was first made at a San Francisco hotel in the mid 1920s at the request of an actor, who was appearing in the play, The Green Goddess.
        Green Goddess Dressing
        4 to 5 anchovy fillets, minced
        1/2 green onion, chopped
       2 tablespoons minced parsley
       1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
       1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
       2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
        1/4 cup snipped chives

        Stir ingredients together until well-blended. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

        Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini invented the Caesar salad at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, in 1924. Note that he insisted his dressing be made with Worcestershire sauce — not anchovies. The International Society of Epicures in Paris once voted the salad as “the greatest recipe to come out of the Americas in 50 years.”
        Caesar Salad Dressing
        2 eggs
        1/4 teaspoon salt
       Black pepper, to taste
       Juice of 1 lemon
       6 drops Worcestershire sauce
       4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

        Boil eggs for exactly 1 minute; drain and set aside to cool.

        In large bowl, whisk together salt, pepper, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Add eggs and whisk. While whisking, slowly add olive oil in thin stream. Toss dressing with torn romaine lettuce, garlic-flavored croutons and freshly grated Parmesan. Makes enough dressing for 2 heads of lettuce, about 4 servings.

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