Inspissation is the process of thickening by dehydration. More specifically, it is the process used when heating high-protein containing media; for example to enable recovery of bacteria for testing.

A common example of inspissation is frying an egg; the loss of water from the protein causes the egg to thicken from a gelatinous fluid to a solid. Any stained bacteria, such as Mycobacteria, can then be isolated.

Microbiology | Zoology