Alton Brown as seen in "Chopped: Alton’s Maniacal Baskets"

The words "mystery ingredients" can inspire feelings of fear or dread when used to describe food that has just been placed in front of you -- but not if you're a judge or competitor on "Chopped."

Mystery basket ingredients have been the foundation of every "Chopped" challenge since the Food Network show premiered in 2009. In fact, watching competitors throw together a dish using chicken in a can, durian or Rocky Mountain oysters is exactly what keeps us tuning in year after year, season after season, and through all kinds of specials and tournaments.

The latest "Chopped" tournament kicks off this Tuesday, June 22, on Food Network and discovery , where new episodes will be available weekly. And if you thought Martha Stewart introduced some tough baskets, expect culinary science mastermind Alton Brown, whose devious streak shines through in "Cutthroat Kitchen," to take things to a new, almost diabolical level in "Chopped: Alton's Maniacal Baskets."

As evidenced by the title of this five-part tournament, the 16 chef-testants are definitely in for a wild ride.

They can't exactly blame Brown for any of the more eccentric basket ingredients; the fault actually lies with Brown's social media following -- they're the ones who were asked to suggest these "maniacal" ingredients that are clearly intended to stump the chefs.

Chefs Maneet Chauhan ("The Secret Ingredient," 2020) and Marcus Samuelsson ("Hustle") will join Brown at the judges table, and together they'll select the winners of the four preliminary heats and later the ultimate winner of the $50,000 cash prize.

You'd think that after so many seasons, nothing could possibly shock competing chefs, "Chopped" host Ted Allen, or even viewers. But if you read Food Network's description of key moments in the tournament, you get a feel for the nightmarish things that await us and those poor contestants: "a Scandinavian delicacy with a challenging texture … sticky beans and a peculiar salad … a unique style of apple pie in the entrée round that has everyone asking 'why?' … an unusual pudding consisting of pork in the dessert basket …" and an item that "is staring back at them."

Ready for some of the craziest ingredients in "Chopped" history?

Tune in to "Chopped: Alton's Maniacal Baskets" on Tuesday, June 22, and be thankful you're not the one who has to taste, smell or work with some of these basket items.