Gelatinisations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The processes by which a substance is converted into a gel or jelly-like state ; the swelling and thickening of starch granules when heated in water
2. Instances of substances setting into a gelatinous form ; the thickening of starch as it absorbs water and swells under heat
3. Occurrences of a material turning into a jelly-like mass ; the heat-driven swelling of starch that causes sauces and puddings to thicken

Etymology: "Gelatinisations" is the plural of "gelatinisation", a noun for the processes by which something is turned into a gel or jelly-like thickened state. The base word is "gelatin", which comes from Latin "gelatus", meaning "frozen" or "congealed", from "gelare", "to freeze". The same root gave English "jelly", so the everyday dessert and the chemist's term share a distant ancestor in the idea of something that has set firm. The ending "-isation" is the British spelling of "-ization", a suffix that turns a noun or adjective into a word for the process of making or becoming that thing. Adding it to "gelatin" produces a term for the act of converting a substance into gelatin-like form, which is why the word is most often found in food science, starch chemistry and biochemistry. Its plural form simply counts separate instances of this process.

Synonyms: gelatinizations, gelling, jellification, solidifications, thickenings

Antonyms: liquefactions, dissolutions, melting, thinnings, dilutions