Back to the full dot-point answer
SingaporeNutrition & Food ScienceQuick questions
Food Science and the Effects of Cooking
Quick questions on Carbohydrates in cooking: gelatinisation and caramelisation - O-Level Food and Nutrition
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is gelatinisation of starch?Show answer
Gelatinisation is what happens when starch is heated in a liquid. The steps are:
What are avoiding lumps?Show answer
If starch is added too quickly to hot liquid, the outside of each clump gelatinises and seals before the inside can spread out, forming lumps. To avoid this, mix the starch with a little cold liquid first to make a smooth paste (a "slurry"), then stir it into the hot liquid while stirring continuously.
What is dextrinisation?Show answer
Dextrinisation is the browning of starch by dry heat. The starch breaks down into shorter molecules called dextrins, which are brown and add flavour. It happens on the surface of starchy foods cooked with dry heat: the golden crust of bread, browned toast, and the surface of baked or fried starchy foods.
What is caramelisation?Show answer
Caramelisation is the browning of sugar by heat. As sugar is heated it melts, then turns golden and finally brown, developing a rich, sweet, slightly bitter flavour. It is used to make caramel, to brown the top of baked desserts, and to add colour and flavour to many sweet and savoury dishes.
Have a question we have not covered?
This dot-point answer is short enough that we have not extracted many short questions yet. Read the full dot-point answer or ask Mo, our study assistant, in the chat for follow ups.