Are You Daring Enough To Try These Outrageous Chopped Ingredients?

Vegans, beware!

The premise of the Food Network show Chopped is simple: Four chefs compete in three rounds to see who can create the best appetizer, entree, and dessert dishes for a grand prize of $10,000. The catch? They must incorporate 3 ingredients from a mystery basket into each of their dishes–and these ingredients don’t always fit within the typical food groups!

We challenge all chefs, whether you are professionally-trained or self-taught, to stretch your imagination to the limit when it comes to the bizarre list of mystery basket ingredients we’ve compiled below. Even the most adventurous eaters may find themselves turning green at these outrageous Chopped basket ingredients!

Chicken Feet

Photo Credit: Cheat Sheet

It’s hard to believe that Chopped contestants were able to make a delicious dish using an ingredient with the word “feet” in its name, but they are professionals after all. That being said, chicken feet aren’t very pretty to look at. In fact, they look exactly like what you’re probably picturing: They’re rubbery, scaly, and have sharp, fully-intact claws. The episode featuring this, um, interesting ingredient was a Season 8 Halloween episode, so at least it matches the theme!

Jokes aside, chicken feet are mainly just tendons, bones, and cartilage, so it’s near-perfect for making golden, rich chicken broth. Chicken feet are typically forgotten in everyday cooking, but they’re staples at ethnic food markets if you want to brew a cold or flu-busting broth. The feet may not be photogenic, but they’re useful in other ways: They’re rich in beneficial minerals, and if you add chilies or ginger to your chicken broth, your sinuses will be cleared in no time. They also contain collagen, which can help your body metabolize fats, reduce inflammation, and even clear up your complexion. We guess something beautiful can come from chicken feet!

Durian

Photo credit: pixabay

Durian is an intimidatingly large, yellow-green colored fruit covered in sharp spikes, so it’s not exactly the most welcoming fruit in the fruit bowl. That being said, what makes the durian famous–or, rather, infamous–is its smell. Known as one of the most foul-smelling foods in the world, the durian is actually banned on public transport across Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong. We don’t even want to think about how the Chopped kitchen smelled during the season 15 episode featuring the durian!

Still, it’s popularly described in Southeast Asia as “hell on the outside, heaven on the inside,” so as long as you know what you’re doing with the fruit, you have a shot at creating something amazing. It helps that, according to The Culture Trip, the durian is surprisingly packed with iron, Vitamin C, and potassium, and it can improve muscle strength, skin health, and even lower blood pressure. The durian’s unique taste is difficult for many to put into words, but it was once described as “a rich custard highly flavored with almonds.” For a fruit that comes from a tree pollinated by bats, it sounds more pleasant than we expected! And with so many health benefits, is it any wonder that the durian is considered a superfood?

Coagulated Pig’s Blood

Photo Credit: Food Network

We’d tell vegans to skip this one, but honestly, even the thought of having pig’s blood, let alone coagulated pig’s blood, near one’s food would probably freak anyone out! We know our way around a kitchen here at HungerPass, but we honestly have no clue what we’d do if faced with incorporating a gelatinous bowl of pig’s blood into a scrumptious appetizer. Chopped host Ted Allen said that producers try to find basket ingredients that will “make a 12-year-old boy go ‘Ewww,’” and we think this fits the bill!

Pig Blood Curd may sound nightmarish to an American, but it’s actually considered a delicacy in countries like China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Still, in recent years scientists have warned against its consumption due to an increase in people contracting meningitis. When prepared “correctly,” (though scientists claim that consumption of it in any form can be dangerous,) the blood takes on a jelly-like consistency and is often served with noodles or made into a soup. Many people in countries like Vietnam find it to be a hearty, iron and protein-rich meal, and it’s even used in Europe in dishes like black pudding, AKA blood sausage. Regardless of its widespread use, we’re just glad we weren’t judging on Chopped that episode!

Squid Ink

Photo Credit: Platings and Pairings

This season 35 episode of Chopped challenged contestants to make a dish with squid ink as one of the main ingredients, and everything got pretty dark, if you know what we mean. We never would have thought of ink as food, but that’s Chopped for you: They’re constantly surprising us with basket ingredients we never knew could be made into an enticing entree. What makes this ingredient so weird isn’t just how, well, weird squid ink is–like, how did they even collect it?–but how the midnight-black color makes for a most…unusual plate of food, to say the least.

Squid ink has a rich, briny flavor, which makes it a perfect pair to any seafood dish, especially something like shrimp linguine. Of all the ingredients on this list, squid ink is probably the most commonly used in American cuisine. It’s also the most useful ingredient used outside of the kitchen, as it was once used in traditional medicine, writing, art, cosmetics, and as a food additive, according to Healthline. Research also suggests that squid ink contains strong antioxidant properties and could even help fight cancer. Still, it’s a little jarring to see a plate piled high with black freshly-made squid ink pasta, though some consider the deep-dark inky color visually striking. Ultimately, it’s up to you–would you be willing to try a dish of slimy black spaghetti?

Goat/Lamb Heat

Photo Credit: Food Network

At the risk of being too gross, we opted to use a photo of one of the contestants when she saw this interesting basket ingredient for the first time. Honestly, we don’t even know how we’d handle this situation. Picture it: You’re a professional chef, you’re on Chopped, you have a chance of winning thousands of dollars, and the only thing standing in your way is the basket of mystery ingredients. Host Ted Allen tells you to open your basket, but when you do, all you see are the lifeless eyes of…a goat?!

Four chefs faced this nightmare in reality during the season 15 premiere episode, and we’re just glad we weren’t in their shoes! Goat/Lamb meat is a more traditional ingredient in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Latin American cooking, but that doesn’t make it look any less creepy, especially when you only have 30 minutes to figure out how to cook it into an award-winning meal.

When compared with traditional sources of red meat, goat meat is actually lower in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Apparently, different flavors and textures abound when it comes to a goat/lamb’s head: The eyeballs taste like “a slow-cook tendon,” according to L.A. Weekly, and the brain tastes like a creamier version of sweetbreads while the mouth cavity (!!!!) is packed with rich, savory flavors. L.A. Weekly even provided a recipe for Goat Head Tacos, in case you’re looking to scare the wits out of your children this week.   

Mashed Potato Candy

Photo Credit: Sugar Spun Run

When compared to blood, ink, and the world’s smelliest fruit, something called “mashed potato candy” doesn’t sound all too weird. But think about it: mashed potato…candy? We have two questions: What and How? Voted the weirdest mystery basket ingredient by Food Network fans, (the goat head was somehow in second place,) mashed potato candy is an old-fashioned snack that you probably won’t find in your local convenience store.

Most of the strange ingredients on this list originated in other countries, but this last ingredient heralds from the good ol’ US of A. Is that really a surprise? After all, it honors the American tradition of making regular food as sweet and sugary as possible! Mashed Potato Candy is apparently a vintage southern delicacy, at least according to Spicy Southern Kitchen. All you need to make it is a russet potato, powdered sugar, and peanut butter. Once the potato is mashed and mixed with the powdered sugar, you spread a thin layer of peanut butter and roll the dough into a swiss roll, which you then slice into cookie-like candies. Since the “candies” don’t contain flour, they’re safe to eat raw or baked. This is a recipe you can easily make at home–and of all the ingredients on this list, mashed potato candy is probably your safest option!

By Emma Patterson