French Onion Dip
French onion dip is a dip that typically uses sour cream and minced onion as its primary ingredients. Mayonnaise and cream cheese may also be used as primary ingredients. Ingredients used to add flavor may include onion salt, salt or sea salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, garlic powder, parsley, chives, Worcestershire sauce and other foods, spices and seasonings. It is sometimes referred to as "California dip". French onion dip has been described as a dip that's sometimes served at parties and as a "classic holiday party offering". It has also been described as "an American classic". Potato chips are commonly served with the dip. It may also be used on other foods, such as hamburgers, sandwiches and tacos.
Many mass-produced varieties exist, such as Ruffles French Onion Dip and Frito-Lay French Onion Dip.
Beginning in the 1950s in the United States, Lipton ran an advertisement campaign promoting French onion dip prepared at home using Lipton's French onion soup mix. After this time, many new commercially produced varieties of dips (numbering in the hundreds) were created and produced in the U.S. The campaign focused upon consumers preparing French onion dip at home using sour cream or cream cheese combined with the soup mix, to be served with potato or corn chips. Commercially prepared products may contain thickening agents, stabilizers, preservatives and additional additives.
Homemade versions can be simple preparations of powdered French onion soup mixes combined with sour cream or cream cheese or more complex versions that involve cooking. The latter involves slicing and cooking/caramelizing onions and then mixing in various primary ingredients, spices and seasonings.
