Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on the research revealing the 'perfect' technique for cooking boiled eggs

This week, we are talking eggs. Scientists have just come up with the perfect way to cook a boiled egg - the drawback is that it will take you 32 minutes. Normally, I would boil an egg by placing it in boiling water for anywhere between 6 and 10 minutes depending on how runny I like my yolk.   The research published in the nature journal Communications Engineering took computer simulations to mathematically calculate the best way to boil an egg, then the researchers took 300 eggs and ran their own practical tests directed by the computer models.  The challenge with egg cooking is that the white of an egg cooks at 85C, whereas the yolk of an egg cooks at 65C. This means that often when an egg is cooked in its shell you can have a perfectly cooked yolk with an undercooked egg white.  To measure their eggs the researchers used:  FT-IR spectroscopy to assess the extent of protein denaturation. TPA (texture profile analysis) to measure texture of egg albumen and yolk. Quantitative Description Analysis to get insights on colour, consistency, texture and taste of the cooked eggs. Metabolomic Analysis to investigate nutritional profile.  Their new method of cooking, which they called Periodic Cooking, results in an evenly-cooked egg with a higher nutritional content than other ways of cooking an egg.  So how do you cook the perfect egg?  Bring a pan of water to the boil, and also have another bowl of water that is sitting at 30 C.    First, spoon the egg into the boiling water, wait 2 minutes - then move the egg to the cooler bowl of water for 2 minutes.    Repeat this process of hot and cold 6 times and the egg will be perfectly cooked (according to science) - a total cook time of 32 minutes.  So that's it - the perfect egg, if your perfect life means you can stand over a stove for 32 minutes.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.