Brunel Student cooks up design for egg perfection

A Brunel University Industrial Design student has created an innovative product that will make gooey whites and hard yolks a thing of the past at breakfast time. PerfEGG is a clever device, which ensures a perfect egg - hard or soft - depending on your preference.

How does it work?
In order to cook a perfect soft-boiled egg, PerfEGG maintains the temperature of the egg between that of the coagulation of the white and yellow. Coagulation is the process in which the egg changes from a fluid into a thickened mass. By sustaining the temperature, PerfEGG allows the coagulation to occur in the white, but not in the yolk. After eight and a half minutes, the white (or albumin) changes from clear to white and hardens into a well-formed shape, leaving the yolk complete and deliciously runny.

PerfEGG also guarantees a perfect hard-boiled egg as the process is timed, avoiding undercooking or the water boiling off too soon. In addition, as PerfEGG doesn't allow the water to actually hit boiling point, it saves the energy that would otherwise be lost through latent heat.

The designer, Ben Harris, 22, from Dublin comments, “I love soft-boiled eggs with toasted soldiers but I get so frustrated if I get the timing wrong and the egg is too hard to dip my soldiers in. My design solves this problem. Boiled eggs are the most popular way to eat eggs in Britain - PerfEGG can now ensure that a perfect egg is achieved, every time. I hope to be able to take the design to commercialisation in the near future.“
Paul Turnock, Design Director, School of Engineering and Design at Brunel University, adds, “The Industrial Design programme at Brunel integrates technological subjects with human factors design. The philosophy is based on our understanding of function, from basic mechanisms to complex electronic devices. Ben has very effectively developed a product that can make an everyday process even easier. I wish Ben the best of luck in taking this design to further development.“