Eggs-periment revolutionizes breakfast with science-backed method
It turns out that cooking eggs is a topic that engages not only lovers of nutritious breakfasts. I'm not referring to chefs either. Scientists from the Italian University of Naples have scrutinized this issue. Ernesto Di Maio and his collaborators discovered a way to cook perfect eggs—with well-set whites and creamy yolks. Analyses have shown that not only do they taste the best, but they also contain the most nutritional value.
The editorial team of Newsweek.pl cites the findings of the Italian scientists, published in "Nature Communications Engineering." The academics used the method of so-called periodic cooking to prepare the eggs. Admittedly, serving breakfast using this method would take at least 32 minutes. However, it must be said that the results of the study are impressive.
How do alternately cooked eggs taste?
Eggs cooked using this special "scientific" method were served for tasting to 8 people along with other eggs cooked in the traditional way—hard-boiled, soft-boiled, and sous vide (long cooking at a low temperature). Emilia Di Lorenzo, co-author of the study, is delighted with the consistency of the resulting yolk:
Hundreds of trials, analyses, and calculations by scientists resulted in an egg whose white's consistency was similar to that of a soft-boiled egg, while the yolk resembled the effect of the sous vide method.
Eggs cooked for 32 minutes
The scientists achieved the above-described result in the following way—they repeatedly moved the eggs between two containers. One had boiling water—at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius, and the other had warm water at 30 degrees Celsius. Every 2 minutes, the eggs were moved in a basket between the boiling and warm water. This cycle was repeated 8 times.
Periodically heated and cooled, the white eventually fully set, and the yolk cooked at a constant temperature, which allowed for a creamy consistency.
The impact of cooking on egg nutritional values
Eggs cooked by this method retained their full nutritional values. Until now, it was believed that as cooking time increases, the nutritional values of the eggs decrease. However, it turns out that not only time but also the temperature of heat processing is crucial. Cyclic cooling of the eggs allowed for retaining everything precious in the yolk, including lecithin, which inhibits cholesterol absorption.
You'll read about how the yolk and the white contains valuable substances in an article about which part of the egg is healthier.
