Pink beetroot paste, pink cocktail, pink cake, pink caramel popcorn and more recipes dye TikTok this color on the occasion of the premiere of the movie Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. Gastronomy has not escaped this thematic explosion, nor have the clothes, makeup and different accessories that are inspired by the iconic doll.
“I think Barbie would definitely eat this,” says user Kat Clark (@katclark), who posted a pink pasta recipe on TikTok that alludes to the movie. The video currently accumulates about 3 million views and more than 385,000 ‘likes’. The dish, made with beets, Greek yogurt and feta cheese, has been replicated by multiple users on the same social network.
Other users have taken advantage of this trend to create pink versions of almost any preparation. For example, mixologist Amy Traynor (@moodymixologist) has created a ‘Barbie lemonade’, the video of which has been seen by more than 3 million people. Just do a quick search on TikTok with the words ‘Barbie’ and ‘recipe’ to find multiple dishes of this color, which are accompanied by the iconic song Barbie Girl by the musical group Aqua.
This rage for pink has led Mattel, the company that produces the doll, to start brand collaborations with different clothing and accessory companies, but also with food franchises: “Barbie-inspired foods include ice cream and a hamburger with pink sauce that are sold at Burger King in Brazil,” explains journalist Lisa Richwine from Reuters.
The curious thing about this trend, called Barbiecore, is that it is aimed at an adult audience. Also a Reuters journalist, Helen Reid, assures that these recipes and products “are a bet on the nostalgic journey that Barbie represents for many who played with the doll as children.” They are people who seek to relive their childhood through the color pink.
For the elaborations to present these shades, most users have resorted to artificial colors, but there are other ways to achieve it. Beetroot contains a natural pigment, betanin, which gives it a naturally pink color. Preparing a hummus with this root, therefore, can be another way to join the Barbiecore trend.
