Source: HowToCook (a programmer's guide)
This method relies on gentle-heating through repeated temperature oscillation — moving the egg between 100°C and 30°C — to cook the white whilst keeping the yolk molten. The principle is straightforward: protein denatures unevenly across temperature bands. The whites set around 63–65°C; the yolk stays liquid above 70°C. By cycling the egg between hot and cool water, you arrest the heat penetration at the exact moment the white firms but before the yolk firms, producing that characteristic jammy texture.
Bring two pots to their target temperatures before the egg goes in. Pot A needs a rolling boil at 100°C; Pot B should sit at a warm 30°C — use a thermometer. Place the room-temperature egg into the boiling water using a slotted spoon and set your timer. Every two minutes precisely, transfer the egg to the warm pot using the same spoon. The warm water slows cooking; the boiling water restarts it. The switching is mechanical: move the egg, reset the timer, move again. After sixteen transfers (32 minutes elapsed), leave the egg in the warm pot for 30 seconds to equalise its temperature.
Immediately submerge the egg in ice water at 0°C for 30 seconds. This halts the residual carryover cooking that would otherwise push the yolk past the target doneness. The ice bath is not optional — without it, the yolk will continue to firm for another two or three minutes.
Peel from the blunt end where an air pocket sits between the shell and membrane. This pocket gives you an entry point. Work the membrane away from the white using your thumb, moving lengthwise down the egg rather than circumferentially. The membrane separates cleanly when the egg has been cooked to this precise temperature-control, revealing the barely-set white clinging to a liquid yolk that breaks open the moment you cut into it. Serve immediately on toast or in a soldier — any delay and ambient heat will continue cooking the yolk.
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