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.

After cooking the egg thusly, the researchers first studied it using spectrometry and an MR-like scanner. They confirmed that both phases (yolk and white) were cooked perfectly. They also found that the eggs had more healthy antioxidants (polyphenols) than boiled eggs, though it’s not clear why.

The scientists devised a way of cooking an egg that requires no special culinary skill or fancy gadgets. It took about 300 eggs, though the researchers “didn’t eat all of them,” said Pellegrino Musto, a polymer expert at the National Research Council of Italy.