Gelatinisation, in food technology, is the process of turning a liquid or mixture into a gel by adding gelatin or a similar gelling agent — or, in starch cookery, the related transformation in which starch granules swell and burst in hot water. True gelatinisation with gelatin works through the protein’s remarkable setting power: dissolved in warm liquid, its chains form a three-dimensional network on cooling that traps water, giving jellies, mousses, and confectionery their characteristic wobble. The strength of the set — measured in Bloom — depends on gelatin concentration and quality. Vegetarian alternatives such as agar, carrageenan, and pectin gelatinise by different chemistry but serve the same purpose: turning fluid preparations into stable, sliceable gels.