The perfect boiled egg has a velvety yolk paired with a soft, solid white. Achieving this balance can be a challenge because the yolk cooks at a lower temperature than the white. Hard boiling an egg can yield a chalky yolk,

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 the perfect boiled egg involves two pans and takes more than half an hour, scientists have found. While getting the right consistency in both yolk and white is perhaps more of an art form, a team of Italian researchers say they have now found the perfect recipe according to science.