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Barilla has Spotify playlists perfectly timed to cook each of their pasta shapes al dente

This is so clever.

Screenshot via Spotify, Photo credit: Canva

Cue up some Mixtape Spaghetti and get your al dente on.

A pasta brand having a Spotify account is unexpected to begin with, but a pasta brand creating Spotify playlists specifically to help people cook their noodles perfectly al dente is exactly the kind of unexpected the world needs more of.

Barilla, the famous Italian pasta brand, is cleverly using Spotify as a kitchen timer for its various styles of pasta. Say you're planning on cooking up some penne pasta tonight. All you have to do is boil some water, pour the pasta in, turn on Barilla's "Pleasant Melancholy Penne" playlist, and dance around your kitchen (or make your sauce or whatever) until the music stops. Then you know it's time to drain and serve.

The playlists are pasta shape specific. For instance, Mixtape Spaghetti is exactly 9 minutes long for perfectly cooked spaghetti noodles while Boom Bap Fusilli is 11 minutes because those little corkscrews take a bit longer to cook. Look at those playlist names. Timeless Emotion Fusilli? Moody Day Linguine? Someone in Barilla's marketing department has been having some fun.

barilla, pasta, spotify, al denta pasta, cooking pastaWho would think Barilla would have nearly 500,000 listeners on Spotify? Screenshots via Spotify

What kinds of songs are on these playlists, you ask? It's a mixed bag. There's some Italian music, of course. But they've also got some Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, The Beatles, The Smiths and others as well. (Interestingly, a lot of the playlists have songs marked with an "E" for Explicit Content, so listen with discernment if you've got small kiddos who might embarrass you by singing out profanities in the grocery store.)

barilla, pasta, spotify, al denta pasta, cooking pastaBarilla's playlists are timed to cook each variety of pasta.Screenshots via Spotify


People have been utterly tickled to find out that Barilla is using Spotify in this way.

"This is an amazing random fun fact."

"Very cool! What a great marketing idea."

"This might be one of the best pieces of info I’ve ever received re cooking."

"That’s actually genius, cooking and vibing all in one."

"This is *chefs kiss* perfect! Thank you!!!"


How Its Made Food GIFGiphy

What does al dente mean?

In Italian, al dente literally translates as "to the tooth," which doesn't help much with understanding what it means, except that the pasta should have a slight bit of resistance when you bite into it. Essentially, the ideal texture of cooked pasta should be soft but also slightly firm. Soft but firm but still soft—you know it when you bit into it. There's no gumminess and no chalkiness to al dente pasta. It's the perfect consistency for soaking up sauce without being mushy.

Most of the time, that means cooking pasta slightly less than the cook time indicated on the box. But Barilla pasta is known for being "always al dente"—at least that's how they've advertised their pasta for decades.

- YouTubeyoutu.be


What are the Italian rules for cooking pasta?

Wait, there are rules? Apparently so. Here are 5 rules of pasta cooking according to Eataly's Italian code of conduct:

1. Pair the right shape with the right pasta sauce.

"Fine delicate strands work best with light, smooth sauces while twisted shapes and wider ribbons can support chunkier sauces."

2. Never break pasta before cooking.

"It may be tempting to break long pasta shapes in half in order to fit them in the pot, but be warned: this is considered sacrilege in the Italian kitchen!"

spaghetti, pasta, barilla, al denteDo NOT break spaghetti anywhere near an Italian.Photo credit: Canva

3. The only utensil you need is a fork.

"Italians never cut their pasta so leave the knives for your secondo, per favore."

4. Master the twirling technique.

"If you're having difficulty, try this: ground the fork on the bottom of the plate and gently twirl to capture a forkful of pasta, making sure there aren't too many loose ends."

5. Avoid cheese with seafood pastas.

"In most cases, Italians never put grated cheese on pasta dishes that contain seafood. Instead, use a little bit of sautéed breadcrumbs with olive oil to garnish the dish."

There you go. All you need to make yourself a delicious bowl of Timeless Emotion Fusilli or Moody Day Linguine. Thanks, Barilla! (You can find their playlists here.)

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Pop Culture

Struggling musician unknowingly gives $5 to a TikTok star and gets a huge career boost

You never know where an act of kindness will lead.

@mdmotivator/TikTok

David Kamara had no idea just how far his kindness would take him.

Hopefully, we engage in acts of kindness for their own intrinsic rewards. However, it’s also pretty amazing when generosity gets reciprocated.

TikTok creator Zachery Dereniowski is best known for approaching random strangers, requesting a dollar, then giving the first person to offer one a large sum of money and helping make one of their dreams come true.

On February 17, Dereniowski stood on a street outside the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, holding a yellow, smiley-face balloon, asking folks if they’d buy it for a dollar.

Everyone turned him down until he was approached by a friendly man named David Kamara. Kamara handed Dereniowski a flyer, explaining that he was a musician. Whipping out an iPad to show off some of his work, Kamara’s energy was instantly infectious.

“I grew up in the hood, so when we were little we used to go to the Dollarama to get the dollar store mics…I never knew it would manifest into this,” he told Dereniowski.

It wasn’t until after he listened to the song that Dereniowski asked Kamara if he’d like to buy the balloon for a dollar. Without missing a beat, Kamara upped the offer to an e-transfer of $5, saying "a dollar is not going to do much.”

For helping him out, Dereniowski gave Kamara the “magic” balloon, telling him that it would help “manifest” his biggest wish once he let it go in the air.

Kamara knew exactly what he wanted to manifest—a Grammy.

@mdmotivator “I’ll be sending the money to my family in Africa” 🥺❤️ (L1NK 1N B10) #mystery #music #money #africa #spotify #viral #kindness ♬ original sound - Zachery Dereniowski

(Note: We don't recommend letting balloons go for environmental protection and safety reasons.)

Dereniowski didn’t come with any trophies up his sleeve, but he did give Kamara $2,000 on the spot to use towards his music career. Kamara, unsurprisingly, was absolutely elated.

"I can't believe you just did that bro. Nobody would do that for me!” he exclaimed, adding that he would be sending some of the 2,000 to his brothers and sisters in Africa.

“You just blessed me, so I can bless,” he told Dereniowski.

To Kamara’s surprise, the blessings would keep coming. Dereniowski informed Kamara that his millions of followers would now know where to stream Kamara's music. The good deed influencer even wrote an on-screen caption showing that Kamara's work was available on Spotify and Apple.

The clip, which received over 11 million views, gave Kamara an instant surge to his fan base. According to an interview with Insider, his Instagram following grew from 16,000 to over 63,900, and his TikTok (which was only recently created) went from only 40 followers to over 43,600. Holy moly.

Just as he dreamed of, Kamara’s music career has seen a major shift as well. His two most popular songs, “Replay” and "For you," now have been listened to on Spotify over 280,000 times collectively.

Kamara told Insider that he had no idea who Dereniowski really was, but thought he might need money to get home, which is why he offered $5. That good deed has been reciprocated beyond his wildest imagination. And true to his word, he continued to share his blessings with others. In addition to sending that money back to his family, he plans on giving it to some of Dereniowski’s fans who shared their personal situations in the video’s comments.

Kindness really can be the gift that keeps on giving.

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'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda offers up a musical guide to climate change.

The 'Hamilton' creator's latest playlist has an important theme.

It's not often these days that you see news about climate change and think, "Yes! I can't wait!" This is the rare exception — sort of.

Through the magic of a Spotify playlist, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wants to help you keep your eye on the ball and inspire you to take action (here's a list of 21 things you can do right now) on climate change.

Climate change is depressing to read about. Things like the fact that the head of the Environmental Protection Agency isn't sure that climate change exists (it does) or the fact that actual climate scientists are a bit freaked out by our current approach to addressing climate change are unnerving — if not downright scary.

Miranda's playlist provides a soundtrack to help keep you motivated so you don't lose hope while you're reading the latest news.

The playlist, called "Climb It, Change Is Real," is 16 tracks long and it's a straight-up banger.

It features songs like R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," Nelly's "Hot in Herre," Sean Paul's "Temperature," and Michael Jackson's "Earth Song." It's a fun mix you can listen to while reading up on things like how climate change might change the world's food supply, how India's plan to plant 50 million trees can help fight back against rising temperatures, and why 21 teens and young adults are suing the U.S. government over climate inaction.

Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images.

"Hamilton" did wonders for national interest in our nation's first Secretary of the Treasury. Maybe Miranda could make a musical about climate change? No pressure or anything.

Until then, you can check out his playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.

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