Periodic cooking of eggs

Egg cooks are challenged by the two-phase structure: albumen and yolk require two cooking temperatures. Separation or a compromise temperature to the detriment of food safety or taste preference are the options. In the present article, we find that it is possible to cook albumen and yolk at two temperatures without separation by using periodic boundary conditions in the energy transport problem. Through mathematical modeling and subsequent simulation, we are able to design the novel cooking method, namely periodic cooking. Comparison with established egg cooking procedures through a plethora of characterization techniques, including Sensory Analysis, Texture Profile Analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy, confirms the different cooking extents and the different variations in protein denaturation with the novel approach. The method not only optimizes egg texture and nutrients, but also holds promise for innovative culinary applications and materials treatment. Emilia Di Lorenzo and colleagues propose an approach to address the energy transport problem of cooking the albumen and yolk of a boiled egg at their optimal temperatures without separation. By alternating immersion in boiling water and water at 30∘C, the researchers achieve a fully set albumen similar to a soft boiled egg but with a creamy yolk similar to that of an egg cooked sous vide. The approach potentially offers nutritional benefit compared to other cooking approaches.