Nearly 25% Of People Prefer This Dip At A Party – Daily Meal Survey
For many Americans, November signifies not only football season, but a slew of other festive celebrations resulting in amassed parties with hors d'oeurvres and finger foods galore. Before considering the best dishes to bring to your next social gathering, you may want to make a note of the nation's favorite cocktail foods through the decades.
According to Jean Anderson, author of "American Century Cookbook," while the 1960s gave rise to cocktail shrimp and mini meatballs, and the 1970s were all about chicken wings, dips become a staple party food since the 1950s and have remained popular ever since (via Citizen Times). "Party Food" author Barbara Kafka believes the nation's desire for dips came at the end of World War II when many homes could no longer afford kitchen help and needed a more convenient choice for snack fare (per Daily Press). And Food Timeline only confirms this sentiment. As Americans changed the way they hosted parties, sauces gave rise to dips, or better known as "dunks" in the 50s.
The rest is history since Americans' current love for all foods dip-related continues to run deep. In a recent survey conducted by OnePoll and Cedar Foods, 38% of participants believe dips are the most important party food (per SWNS Digital). With all the available choices nowadays, which dip is everyone's favorite?
Cheese dip reigns supreme
According to a survey conducted by The Daily Meal of 582 Americans, 24.91% prefer cheese dip over any other variety. No one is arguing over America's love for cheese. In a 2013 survey, Kraft Heinz discovered 57% of cheese lovers would either give up using cell phones for a week or abstain from television for a month in order to keep cheese a part of their everyday diets. In a recent "Cheese Sauce Market Analysis," Coherent Market Insights predicts the cheese sauce market will only continue to grow worldwide and by 2025, the company predicts the online market for cheese sauce will equate to roughly $9.6 billion.
The second most popular dip in The Daily Meal's survey is Buffalo chicken dip, which garnered 21.31% of votes. This makes perfect sense if you know how many Americans' enjoy chicken wings. According to the 2021 National Chicken Council's annual wing report, Americans were predicted to consume 1.42 billion chicken wings while watching the Super Bowl. Not only that, but a recent OnePoll survey conducted through Hidden Valley Ranch discovered 33% of participants claimed the best wings were drenched in buffalo sauce (via SWNS Digital).
As for the other dip contenders, the humble guacamole received 19.93% of voter approval, while spinach-artichoke dip accumulated 109 votes. The lowest-ranking dips were hummus with 65 votes and bean dip, coming in at a mere 3.95%. Whichever you prefer, it's crystal clear that if cheese is involved, it's a winner.