Everyone knows about ketchup.

For years it's been the prominent condiment, flourishing on the side of fries, on the bun of a burger or on the outskirts of a plate of chicken tenders. The concoction is frequently seen in eateries, barbecues and refrigerators.

But at Penn State and across the nation, ranch dressing is attempting to dethrone the reigning king.

If you don't believe it, stand in line at most pizza places and you will see the cream-covered ladle sticking out of a container of ranch dressing, and an eager hand reaching for it.

Mike Fry, manager of Canyon Pizza, 260 E. Beaver Ave., said his eyes have been trained to see tubs of ranch drained again and again in one night.

"We've always had ranch. It's hard to keep track of [how much we go through] with how busy we are, but we go through 10 to 15 gallons in a weekend night," Fry said.

Taking a trip to Beaver Canyon on a Friday or Saturday night is all the proof needed to support his statement. Thousands of students flock to various late-night restaurants, leaving behind a trail of ranch-drenched plates and crusts that somehow missed the trashcan, and dead-tired employees cleaning them up.

Jennifer Barnhart, marketing assistant for Hidden Valley, said because of its late-1950s-early-1960s birth and its generation-transcending appeal, the dressing is "a taste of Americana." She believes ranch speaks to everyone.

"It started off with a college crowd and continued evolving. We don't target college students -- it's more toward families and kids -- but the flavor seems to span the ages," Barnhart said.

The phenomenon has struck with force in Findlay Dining Commons in East Halls. Manager Mike Girouard said the commons staff makes two to three 16-gallon batches of ranch dressing a week.

"It's more cost-effective because we go through so much of it," he said.

Brooke Boone, assistant manager of Food Services, said the dressing's demand exceeded supply in the fall semester. "Not having enough ranch was our biggest complaint on our fall survey. The kids like it a lot," she said.

Tyler Swartzwelder (freshman-architectural engineering) admitted to being part of the ranch-devouring public. His refridgerator was home to a few half-full cans of Keystone Light, three packets of ranch dressing and nothing else. He appreciates ranch for its versatility.

"You can put it on pizza, chicken, salad, gyros, sandwiches, wraps, fries, wings, chips and pretzels," Swartzwelder said.

Jordan Crouse's (freshman-architectural engineering) taste buds disagreed. He prefers blue cheese dressing. "[Ranch] is too bitter," Crouse said.

Regardless, ranch dressing has proven to have much diversity for a product created to make lettuce tastier.

However, with all of this dipping and pouring of ranch into our bodies, there are health concerns. Nutrition professor Dorothy Blair said many people are willing to eat these foods because they do not know what is actually in them. She added that people need to train their taste buds to appreciate a wider variety of flavors.

"People have no concept of what's in [ranch dressing]. It is about 25 percent fat, and I think that's good for people to know," Blair said.

At least it comes in fat free.