New egg cooking technique promises culinary revolution
Italian scientists have developed a method called "periodic cooking," which allows you to achieve a perfectly cooked egg. Although time-consuming, this process ensures a velvety yolk and a soft white. Additionally, eggs cooked this way retain the most nutritional value.
Italian scientists from the University of Naples Federico II, led by Ernesto Di Maio, have developed an innovative method of cooking eggs that could revolutionise the way they are prepared. This method, described in "Nature Communications Engineering," involves moving the eggs every two minutes between two vessels of water at different temperatures.
The perfect egg: Here's how the cooking process goes
During cooking, the eggs are placed in a basket and moved between boiling water and lukewarm water at a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. The entire process takes 32 minutes and consists of 8 cycles. After cooking, the eggs are cooled under running water. Thanks to this method, the egg white reaches the perfect consistency, and the yolk remains creamy.
Research conducted by Di Maio's team showed that eggs cooked using the periodic method have a higher nutritional value compared to traditional methods. Emilia Di Lorenzo, co-author of the study, emphasises that the yolk obtained using this method can almost be spreadable. These results were confirmed by a group of taste testers who evaluated eggs cooked using different methods.
Industrial applications
Besides culinary applications, scientists see potential for this new method in the industry. It can be applied to processes such as hardening, crystallisation, and structuring of materials. Thanks to this innovative approach, it's possible not only to improve the quality of boiled eggs but also to optimise industrial processes.
Italian scientists have shown that even a mundane activity like boiling eggs can become a field for innovation and scientific discovery.
