From Seán Kelly, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, UK
I have been reading with amusement the discussion on how to cook the perfect boiled egg. Â鶹´«Ã½ put the matter to bed for me when the Last Word (13 June 1998) published a formula from reader Charles Williams for this. It went as follows: Cooking time = (m(2/3)) × [ln(2 × (t – 100)/(45 – 100)]/c, where t = initial egg temperature in celsius; m = mass of egg in grams and c is a constant. (Letters, 22 March)
Having just started keeping hens, which don’t produce uniformly weighted eggs, I experimented to determine the value of c (3.758) that resulted in eggs boiled to the doneness appreciated by my wife and me. The resulting chart is displayed on our fridge door for ready reference.
