retrogradation
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English [edit]
Noun [edit]
retrogradation (countable and uncountable; plural retrogradations)
- Motion in a retrograde manner
- Decline, degradation
- (chemistry) A reaction that takes place in gelatinized starch when the amylose and amylopectin chains realign themselves, largely responsible for bread becoming stale.
- The major reason that bread stales is not moisture loss, but rather a process called retrogradation, in which the starch molecules in the bread crystallize.
