Scientists Crack the Code to the Perfect Boiled Egg With a Game-Changing Method

Scitech Daily ^ | February 06, 2025 | Springer

[Red Badger]

Scientists have developed an innovative cooking technique that perfects the balance between a firm egg white and a soft, rich yolk.

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Boiling eggs just got a scientific upgrade. By alternating an egg between boiling and cool water, researchers have found a way to cook both the yolk and white optimally — leading to better texture and higher nutritional content than traditional methods.

A newly developed cooking method called periodic cooking offers a way to perfectly cook both the yolk and white of a boiled egg, according to a study published today (February 6) in Communications Engineering. This technique produces an evenly cooked egg with a better nutritional profile than traditional boiling or sous vide methods.

Cooking an egg evenly is a challenge because the yolk and white solidify at different temperatures — the white (albumen) at 85°C (185°F) and the yolk at 65°C (149°F). Traditional boiling at 100°C (212°F) fully sets the yolk but can overcook the white, while sous vide cooking at 60-70°C (140-158°F) for an hour leaves the white undercooked.

Periodic Cooking: A Game-Changing Technique

To solve this, Pellegrino Musto and his team used computational fluid dynamics simulations to design an improved cooking process. Their method involves repeatedly moving an egg between boiling water (100°C / 212°F) and cooler water (30°C /86°F) every two minutes for a total of 32 minutes.

This process, dubbed periodic cooking, was tested in real-life experiments alongside traditional hard-boiled, soft-boiled, and sous vide eggs. The results were analyzed for texture, taste, and chemical composition using advanced techniques such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Texture, Taste, and Nutritional Perks

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. Chemical analysis suggested that the periodically-cooked egg yolks also contained more polyphenols — micronutrients which have been explored for their health benefits.

The authors believe their approach could also have applications in the curing and crystallization of other materials.

Reference:

“Periodic cooking of eggs”

February 2025, Communications Engineering.

DOI: 10.1038/s44172-024-00334-w

[bray]

Scientists are idiots. 30 mins for an egg is rediculous.

[Red Badger]

That’s why they are called ‘eggheads’..............

[MayflowerMadam]

Forgot to say that super fresh eggs aren’t the best’ cause they don’t peel easily.
Mine peel in one piece.

[know.your.why]

Translation: scientist’s are terrible at cooking and should stick to frozen dinners and fast food.

[Tellurian]

Put ‘em in a tea pot, heat it to a whistle, turn off the heat, 7 minutes later dunk ‘em in cold water. Where’s my grant check?

[bray]

If you live in Botswana USAID will send you a billion dollar check.

[SkyDancer]

My grannie would boil six eggs at a time. Her method was after the eggs were in a pot of water covering them would set the pot to boil - just for one minute. She would then let the eggs sit in the hot water for exactly 12 minutes then run cold water over them to set them. Once cooled you could crack them and the shell peels off in just several pieces taking the membrane with them. You start to crack the egg at the top wide part which will pull that inner membrane off with the shells.

If an egg floats in the water it's bad. Gasses from the egg will cause it to float. They have to lay on the bottom of the pot.

[Big Red Badger]

Slow News Day-—
Hence This !

[circlecity]

Like I needed an academic scientist to show me how to boil an egg? This is what they do?

[Buttons12]

Soft-boiled, that’s all I do. Can’t stand hard-boiled eggs!

[Qwapisking]

who would spend 32 minutes boiling an egg? a government employee back in the office. they don’t have that kind of time working from home. kids and whatnot dontchaknow.

[DeplorablePaul]

You are a wonderful person. Just like me.

[Red Badger]

Must be a former Climate Change Researcher...............

[Ransomed]

This reminds me of a Nero Wolfe story where a rare woman guest was staying at the brownstone. The woman makes scrambled eggs and they’re not up to Nero’s standards, so he demonstrates the proper way to do it. They turn out great, and after the meal he magnanimously admits the average housewife might not have an hour to prepare scrambled eggs the way his method requires. I chuckled.

FReegards

[Flaming Conservative]

I put the large eggs in any temperature water, bring it to a boil, turn it down to a simmer, cover and cook for 9 minutes. Perfect every time. America’s Test Kitchen has a perfect soft boiled egg method. Boil 1 1/2 inches water in pot. Add however many eggs you want. Cover and cook on simmer for 6 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water and serve.

[Bob434]

LOL Me Too! I’ll die of hunger waitign for it to cook lol

[Bob434]

i use microwave to cook poached eggs now- but ya gotta time it just right- way faster, less mess- and can’t tell diff in taste, texture-

[Red Badger]

I used to like soft scrambled eggs, then I got sick as a dog on some and have never had them again.............

[lastchance]

What are you going to do with those 22 minutes you saved?

[lastchance]

AFAIK, and from my own experience one does not “boil” an egg but you let the water come just to a simmer take it off the heat and cover it for appx 10-15 minutes before either running it under cold water or cooling at room temp and putting in the fridge. I don’t eat hard boiled eggs but I use hard boiled yolks in my sugar cookie recipe/