Scientists say they’ve found the ideal way to cook boiled eggs to maximize consistency, taste and nutrients of the egg white and yolk. You can even test it at home.

Hard-boiling, soft-boiling or using a trendy sous vide—no matter the approach, cooking a whole egg preserves either the texture of the yolk or the white but rarely both. Now scientists think they have cracked the perfectly cooked egg.

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.