MCNETTLES

HENRY ALFORD

This June, Burger King debuted its bacon ice-cream sundae, merely the latest mainstream co-opting of an haute foodstuff. (Bacon ice cream is chef Heston Blumenthal's signature dish.) Will foodies' other current darlings follow suit?

NETTLES

A herbaceous perennial and invasive weed covered with hollow hairs similar to hypodermic needles. When cooked, they taste like chard or spinach. CURRENT ITERATIONS: Mario Batali's stinging-nettle pappardelle with wild-boar ragu. Grant Achatz's watermelon cocktail with nettles. ADVANTAGES: Rich in vitamin A. Easier to spell than "mizuna." DISADVANTAGES: They are nettles. POSSI BLE MAINSTREAM APPLICATIONS: Falafelbulking agent. McNettles.

MASTIC

A piney resin, CURRENT ITERATIONS: Grant Achatz's matsutake with pine nuts, mastic, and rosemary. Maura Kilpatrick's mastic-flavored shortbread. ADVANTAGES: "Piney" seems healthy. DISADVANTAGES: Competition from the scented-candle industry. POSSIBLE MAINSTREAM APPLICATIONS: Pepperidge Farm's Mastic Milanos. Mastic Newtons. "Mastah" Cracker Jack.

HAY

Horse feed, CURRENT ITERATIONS: Rocco DiSpirito's steak served in hay ash. Rene Redzepi's toastedhay finishing drizzle. ADVANTAGES: It's readily available. (Chef Fergus Henderson encourages cooks to buy it at their local pet store.) Flammability. Tracheal impediment. POSSIBLE MAINSTREAM APPLICATIONS: To add crunch to salads (the new Bac-Os). As an element in "Barnyard Shredded Wheat," along with acorns and owl dander.