The distribution of the chain lengths of amylopectins from wheat, barley, maize, pea, canna, and potato starches were characterized by size-exclusion chromatography. The cereal amylopectins had the shorter average chain-length. The gelation and retrogradation behaviour of the amylopectins, examined using measurements of shear modulus and differential scanning calorimetry, together with studies of the structure of the associated regions in amylopectin gels, indicated that association of the chains in cereal amylopectin gels occurred over shorter segment lengths. The cereal amylopectins have a reduced rate of retrogradation which is linked to their shorter average chain-lengths. © 1990.