Wiggle Your Noodle To Barilla's Perfectly-Timed Pasta Cooking Playlists

Al dente means different things to different people. I'm a sauce hound, so I teeter on the edge of "al dente" and "still kinda hard" so things don't get out of hand when I finish the noodles in the sauce. It can be tough to nail down pasta timing, especially if you're working with an unfamiliar type of noodle. But now Barilla is rolling out a host of Spotify playlists that serve as a musical timer for a number of the brand's noodles, helping home cooks figure out exactly how long to boil their pasta.

Adweek reports that Barilla teamed up with Italian marketing firm Publicis Italia to launch the "Playlist Timer" series on Spotify. The eight playlists include a curated selection of songs, with each playlist lasting the exact duration recommended to cook different types of Barilla pasta. For example, the "Top Hits Spaghetti" is timed to cook the brand's spaghetti in nine minutes and four seconds. The "Best Song Penne" playlist is a bit longer, lasting the full 11 minutes recommended to cook penne rigate.

The playlists are also mood-adjacent; for example, the evocative "Moody Day Linguine" includes tracks from Sufjan Stevens and Birthh, while my personal favorite, "Boom Bap Fusilli," is an 11-minute hip-hop playlist featuring MF Doom and Nas. Artists like Jay-Z, Shawn Mendes, and Harry Styles also appear on various playlists. In the mood for lighthearted classics? There's a pasta playlist for that. Interested in a dose of "pleasant melancholy?" I've got great news for you. You can check out all of the playlists on Barilla Italia's Spotify profile.