Food Chemistry
Retrogradation
The re-association of gelatinised starch chains, mainly amylose, into an ordered crystalline structure during cooling and storage, expelling water (syneresis).
Why rice and bread go hard and stale in the fridge faster than at room temperature — the starch re-crystallises as it cools.
Related terms
Starch gelatinisation
Food ChemistryThe irreversible swelling of starch granules when heated in water above a characteristic temperature, in which the crystalline structure is lost, amylose leaches out and viscosity rises sharply.
Syneresis
Quality & SensoryThe spontaneous expulsion of liquid from a gel as its network contracts.
Amylose
Food ChemistryThe essentially linear fraction of starch, made of α-1,4-linked glucose units. Typically 20–30% of common starches.
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