Agglomeration

The process by which particles or items are gathered together and formed into a mass — in food technology, usually the binding of fine powders into porous clusters that wet and dissolve instantly, a treatment the industry calls instantising. Steam, binders or controlled rewetting make particles stick while preserving the air channels that let liquid rush in. It transformed convenience foods: without agglomeration, instant coffee, dried milk and soup powders would sink into stubborn lumps instead of dissolving smoothly. The powder’s chemistry stays the same; only its architecture changes.