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” by Emilia Di Lorenzo, Francesca Romano, Lidia Ciriaco, Nunzia Iaccarino, Luana Izzo, Antonio Randazzo, Pellegrino Musto and Ernesto Di Maio, 6 February 2025, Communications Engineering.
DOI: 10.1038/s44172-024-00334-w
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7 Comments
Who paid for this foolish study?
The easiest way to cook perfect eggs in the shell (soft or hard boiled) is to use a microwave egg cooker. In my microwave, it is 7 minutes for hard boiled, 3 minutes for soft boiled. No muss, no fuss.
I use the old Julia Childs method, eggs in cold water, bring to a low boil & boil for 10min then remove from the heat & wait 15 mins & cool off & perfect eggs & easy to peel.
Yep I’m certainly going to start spending 32 mins hour boiling eggs rather than 10-12.
Who paid for this???
Ahhh… USAID of course.
Why does it have to be perfect to begin with? It all looks the same after it exits on the other side, anyway.
Back when I could afford eggs, bring just to a gentle boil over medium high heat. Turn off the heat, let sit in the water for 12 minutes. Into ice water. Perfect boiled eggs.
However the interrupted method works perfectly for brownies. If you’re using a good fudge brown formula, bake for 18 minutes at 350°F. Take out of the oven for 15 minutes. Then back into the oven for 15 minutes, just until a tester comes out clean, but possibly with a crumb or two. You will think you’ve gone to brownie heaven.
In the third paragraph it says “Traditional boiling at 100°C (212°F) fully sets the yolk but can overcook the white”
Since the egg white (albumen) solidifies at 85C and the yolk at 65C, shouldn’t it be that the yolk would be overcooked and not the white?
Hence, the need for DOGE.