retrogradation
See also: rétrogradation
English
Etymology
retrograde + -ation
Noun
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.