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EXPLORE MORE: Bizarre and delightful methods folks use to spice up their cuppa chá
It is among the simplest tasks you can perform in the kitchen.
However, it seems you have likely been boiling your eggs incorrectly this whole time.
Researchers have determined the optimal method for boiling an egg uniformly, ensuring that the yolk turns out perfectly smooth and creamy while the egg whites remain firm without being rubbery.
For those accustomed to enjoying a tender six-minute soft-boiled egg, the sole drawback with this new approach is that it requires more than 30 minutes of cooking time.
Material engineers in
Italy
went through 300 eggs attempting to discover the optimal method for boiling one with perfect texture, flavor, and nutritional value.
They were contrasting a hard-boiled egg, a soft-boiled egg, the ‘sous vide’ method favored by upscale eateries, along with an entirely new approach.
This method involves alternately submerging an egg eight times between a pot of boiling water and a bowl of cold water, as per the experts, resulting in the perfect boiled egg.
This solves the issue of having a yolky center that’s just right while the egg whites remain uncooked, typically occurring when eggs are hard-boiled in their shells.
Scientists successfully heated the egg whites to an ideal temperature of 85°C, and nearly achieved the perfect temperature for the yolks at 65°C.
The trick lies in continuously taking the egg out of the boiling water and submerging it in cold water, preventing the yolk from turning hard and firm, while ensuring the egg whites slowly cook just enough to provide some texture.
Professor Ernesto Di Maio, the lead researcher from the University of Naples Federico II who typically focuses on plastics, developed the ‘periodic cooking’ method and prepared all 300 eggs in his own kitchen at home.
He stated, “I believed that the methods utilized in materials science could create the ideal egg, and indeed, the outcome turned out to be exquisite.”
I’ve convinced 50 members of my family and circle of friends to enjoy eggs prepared this method, which we garnished with lemon and pepper at our lab’s Christmas celebration.
It might take approximately 32 minutes to prepare this specific type of egg, and I realize that many individuals may not have the time available; however, I genuinely believe it’s worthwhile for those dear to you instead of serving them incorrectly cooked eggs.
The research aimed to enhance ‘sous vide’ eggs, which are usually cooked for at least one hour at consistent low temperatures, generally ranging from 60°C to 70°C, to achieve a smooth yolk consistency.
According to Professor Di Maio, the problem lies in the fact that the egg whites are not cooked enough—they appear translucent and remain too liquidy.
The group he was heading, with a lead researcher who turned out to have an aversion to eggs, employed advanced mathematical modeling techniques to determine the optimal method for cooking eggs.
They subsequently put these methods to the test, employing three techniques involving directing light beams at eggs to assess both their level of cooking and nutritional content.
In the meantime, eight skilled tasters evaluated hard-boiled, soft-boiled, sous-vide, and intermittently cooked eggs, assessing attributes such as color, melting ability, and texture.
The findings, as reported in the journal Communications Engineering, revealed that eggs prepared with the periodic method exhibited a yolk that was both sweeter and saltier compared to those that were softly boiled.
The consistency of the yolk resembled that of a sous vide egg, yet the egg white was softer, more moist, and translucent.
Its texture was midway between a sous vide egg and a softly boiled one.
Professor Di Maio stated: “This egg spreads more easily on toast compared to a sous vide egg, which tends to soak into the bread.”
However, it is still not appropriate for placement in an eggcup and consumption with toast soldiers, as this would necessitate a softly boiled egg.
The novel method proved superior in enhancing egg nutrition compared to the other three techniques, though researchers indicate that additional studies are necessary to comprehend why this is the case.
During the preparation of the intermittently cooked egg white, temperatures varied from 35°C to 100°C, whereas the yolk reached and maintained a temperature of 67°C.
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