pasteurize

especially British, pas·teur·ise

[pas-chuh-rahyz, pas-tuh-]

verb (used with object)

pasteurized, pasteurizing 

1. to expose (a food, as milk, cheese, yogurt, beer, or wine) to an elevated temperature for a period of time sufficient to destroy certain microorganisms, as those that can produce disease or cause spoilage or undesirable fermentation of food, without radically altering taste or quality.

pasteurize

/ ˈpɑː-, -stjə-, ˈpæstəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to subject (milk, beer, etc) to pasteurization

2. rare,  to subject (a patient) to pasteurism

Other Word Forms

• pasteurization noun
• superpasteurized adjective
• ultrapasteurized adjective
• unpasteurized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pasteurize¹

First recorded in 1880–85; Pasteur + -ize

Example Sentences

“So you likely know that the product most people associate with ‘American cheese’ is a pasteurized processed cheese,” he explained.

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They supported implementing water sanitation, trash removal services, housing regulations, and plumbing standards, along with distributing pasteurized milk to poor families and educating the public about personal hygiene.

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And, late last year a Finnish company called Solar Foods completed requirements, outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, that allow the company to sell a powdery protein made of pasteurized bacteria.

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That means the tests could be picking up inactivated fragments of the virus, like those found in commercial pasteurized milk.

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Food dyes, pasteurized milk and seed oils are among the common items he has criticized, sometimes making health claims that are not backed up by science.

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Related Words

• castrate 
• decontaminate 
• disinfect 
• neuter 
• sanitize 
• spay