pasteurize

American  

[pas-chuh-rahyz, pas-tuh-] / ˈpæs tʃəˌraɪz, ˈpæs tə- /

especially British, pasteurise

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.

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pasteurize British  

/ ˈpɑː-, -stjə-, ˈpæstəˌraɪz /

verb

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

2. rare to subject (a patient) to pasteurism

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of pasteurize

First recorded in 1880–85; Pasteur + -ize

Example Sentences

Gas is used across a range of processes that most people never see — to forge steel to make cars, make glass bottles and pasteurize milk and cheese.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2022

To pasteurize the pee, it stays in the jug for at least two months before the farmer applies it, plant by plant.

From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2022

Then the banks thaw the milk, pool it, pasteurize it, test it, refreeze it, and send it where it’s needed.

From Slate • Feb. 9, 2022

If you're using eggs, you can pasteurize them really easily with some warm water, there's instructions for that online.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2021

Unless the milk is perfectly fresh, and has been handled with great care, it is safer to sterilize or pasteurize it.

From Public School Domestic Science by Hoodless, Adelaide

Related Words

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