Hard-boiled, soft-boiled or poached. Scientists have studied how to cook the perfect egg and have come up with a new recipe that they say optimises its taste and nutritional quality. Cooking an egg is a delicate art because the yolk and the white do not cook at the same temperature.

If the ideal boiled egg has a meltingly soft centre and firm white, scientists have developed what they say is the perfect method. Alas, it takes 32 minutes.

The team used computer models of computational fluid dynamics, then tested out the painstaking—yet reportedly delicious—recipe for themselves

A new study reveals a technique called "periodic cooking" that balances yolk and white to perfection. The only catch? It’s a bit of a time commitment.