Cracked it! Perfect formula for boiled eggs and soldiers

A BOILED egg and soldiers may seem like one of the easiest meals to get right.

But in truth absolute precision is required for the breakfast staple if a new mathematical formula is anything to go by.

The perfect boiled egg should be boiled for exactly four minutes and 15 seconds, and then plunged into cold water for 57 seconds, according to Dr James Hind at Nottingham Trent University. The soldiers, made from white bread, must be toasted for two minutes and 57 seconds and measure 0.8in long. The final step is adding a little bit of salt.

The formula is based on a survey of 1,500 people who were all asked how they prepared their boiled eggs.

The survey also revealed almost two-thirds of people cut the crusts off their toast before buttering their soldiers and 7 per cent like to tap the top of their egg with a spoon, while just under a third prefer to slice it off with a knife. Survey answers were averaged to give the formula.

Statistics lecturer Dr Hind, who was commissioned to devise the boiled egg formula by British Lion Eggs, said: ‘The research reveals that there is a huge variety in how we Britons make boiled eggs, but some trends are clear.

‘Overwhelmingly, we like our eggs to be runny, but not the whites. We cook the egg for a little over four minutes, and half of us will dunk it in cold water for another minute.’

He added: ‘Hopefully my formula will allow people up and down the country to perfect and enjoy the ultimate comfort food.’

Respondents also revealed the nation prefers unsalted butter which almost two-thirds reported using on their soldiers.