Sorry What – Scientists Say It Takes This Long To Cook The Perfect Boiled Egg

Eggs are such a versatile, tasty treat and they’re one of the healthiest foods on the planet to boot. 

So it makes sense that people have *very* specific methods for cooking them. 

We recently wrote about how the secret to perfectly poached eggs is to strain the eggs in a sieve for around 30 seconds (to get rid of wispy bits), swirl the simmering water before gently placing your egg in the pan and add a dash of vinegar to help set those luscious whites. 

And now we can reveal how exactly you can achieve top-notch boiled eggs from the comfort of your own kitchen. 

The secret to perfectly boiled eggs

We’re going to be straight with you here, the technique is a little laborious. 

The problem is that egg whites and yolks have two very different compositions, so they require two different temperatures for optimal cooking. The egg white cooks best at around 85 °C, while the yolk is better off at around 65 °C.

“Many chefs have tried to overcome this problem by cooking yolk and albumen [egg white] separately at the appropriate corresponding temperatures, but this results in a series of too long and complicated steps,” said researchers in a new study.

So they decided to try a different method (one you’ve probably never heard of).

Dubbed periodic cooking, the technique involves alternating between cooking the egg in a pan of boiling water kept at 100C, and then placing it into a lukewarm bowl of water kept at 30C, according to the BBC. 

To get the best results, the egg is switched from pan to bowl and back again every two minutes for a total time of 32 minutes. (We told you, laborious.)

The idea is that while the egg white temperature will vary throughout the cooking process, the yolk temperature remains constant at around 67C.

Researchers said this particular method – when compared to hard-boiling (cooked for 12 mins), soft-boiling (cooked for six mins) and sous vide cooking (where the egg is placed in water at 65 °C for an hour) – led to “improved texture and nutritional content”. 

Basically, you’re meant to end up with a soft yolk but a nice firm egg white.

And if you’re not that fussed about spending half an hour swapping your eggs between pots and pans, a hot tip for delicious jammy boiled eggs is to cook them in simmering water for seven-and-half-minutes before giving them a little ice bath to stop them from cooking further. 

You’re welcome.