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Telegraph
06-02-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
How to make the perfect boiled egg: you'll need two pans and half an hour
Cooking the perfect While getting the right consistency in both yolk and white is perhaps more of an art form, a team of Italian researchers say they have now found the perfect recipe according to science. Switching the The peer-reviewed study, published in the Nature journal Communications Engineering, found this approach keeps both yolk and white at their perfect temperature for the full 32-minute cooking time. By starting in boiling water and moving the egg between pans every two minutes, both parts are cooked perfectly, scientists say. Their analysis also found that these periodically cooked The technique has been such a success that some of the scientists have adopted it to cook eggs in their day-to-day lives. Dr Pellegrino Musto, the author of the study from the Italian National Research Council, said: 'It has a creamy consistency. You don't distinguish the two components (albumen and yolk) by the different texture. Of course, the taste is that of a well-cooked egg and, to me, it is pleasant to the palate and the tongue.' Scientists purchased fresh hen eggs from a supermarket in Naples and kept them at room temperature before embarking on their study. The team are experts in understanding how two materials that touch behave differently, and how to alter the conditions to change properties of each substance independently. Their previous work involved creating different types of layered foam products, and the same approach was applied to eggs. 'We are material scientists mainly working on polymers,' Dr Musto said. 'The idea comes from one of us talking with a friend on fancy ways to cook eggs and he mentioned very complicated (and costly) methods developed by top chefs.' The team used a computer system that models complex fluid dynamics to create a methodology for boiling an egg. The programme was informed that the white part, known as the albumen, cooks at 85C, while the yolk cooks at 65C. The model suggested that switching the egg eight times from boiling water (100C) to lukewarm water (30C) would maintain these different temperatures and create the perfect yolk and albumen. The scientists wrote in the paper: 'We found that our cooking method leads to improved texture and nutritional content with respect to traditional shell-on egg cooking techniques. This peculiar thermal profile allows for optimal cooking of the egg in all its parts.' Prof Emilia Di Lorenzo, the study's lead author from the University of Naples Federico II, said: 'We like to say that this egg gives you the 'best of both worlds'. 'You have a fully set and white albumen, like the one of a hard-boiled egg, together with a perfectly creamy yolk, like the one of a sous-vide egg. As a consequence, yes, it definitely tastes good. 'Whenever we can we adopt this cooking technique, especially when we want to share this recipe with friends and family on special occasions. It is more time consuming than the average boiled egg, but it is definitely worth it: it tastes better, it is more nutritious and you get to share nice insights on the science behind cooking.' A 'Overall, these results strongly suggest that the periodic cooking method has a better advantage over conventional cooking methods in terms of The scientific boiled eggs method has a resemblance to the hot-cold method for scrambled eggs preferred by celebrity chef
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists say boiled eggs should be cooked for 32 minutes for 'perfect' result
Scientists have unveiled the best method to cook the 'perfect' boiled egg - but it's not for those who lack patience. The Italian National Research Council has revealed their new method - which they call "periodic cooking" - takes around 32 minutes. They say the time needed is "optimal" for boiling both the yolk and white of a chicken egg. The pioneering approach provides an evenly-cooked egg with a higher nutritional content than shell-on eggs cooked by conventional boiling or sous vide methods, according to the study published in the journal Communications Engineering. READ MORE: 'They must be panicking' - Paul Merson slams Man City transfer deadline day move as warning sent READ MORE: Air fryer warning as owners told to avoid using popular ingredient to prevent 'damage' But it won't be ideal for anyone wanting a quick breakfast as it takes over half-an-hour. Study leader Dr Pellegrino Musto explained: "The yolk and white in chicken eggs cook at two different temperatures: the albumen cooks at 85 degrees Celsius, while the yolk cooks at 65 degrees Celsius. "Conventional methods for cooking eggs by hard-boiling at 100 degrees Celsius result in the yolk being fully set, while cooking them at temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees Celsius in a water bath for one hour - a method known as sous vide - leaves the white undercooked." Dr Musto of the Italian research team, along with his colleagues, developed the method for consistently cooking eggs by first simulating the process in computational fluid dynamics software. He said: "The simulations suggested a method that consists of alternating an egg between a pan of boiling water kept at 100 degrees Celsius and a bowl kept at 30 degrees Celsius, transferring the egg from one to the other every two minutes for a total duration of 32 minutes." The research team then trialled the process in real life to produce food samples to analyse. Hard-boiled, soft-boiled, and sous vide eggs were also included in the analysis — the final cooked eggs were tested for their texture and sensory qualities, with their chemical properties evaluated using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Dr Musto said: "Periodically-cooked eggs had a soft yolk similar to that of a sous vide egg, while the consistency of the white was somewhere between that of sous vide and soft-boiled. "Temperatures in the periodically-cooked egg white ranged between 35 and 100 degrees Celsius during cooking, while the yolk remained at a consistent temperature of 67 degrees Celsius." He added: "Chemical analysis suggested that the periodically-cooked egg yolks also contained more polyphenols — micronutrients which have been explored for their health benefits." The research team believe their "egg-cellent" approach could also have applications in the curing and crystallisation of other materials.
