verb (used with object), pas·teur·ized, pas·teur·iz·ing.
- 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.
verb (tr)
- to subject (milk, beer, etc) to pasteurization
- rare to subject (a patient) to pasteurism
v.1881, with -ize, after Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist and bacteriologist, who invented the process of heating food, milk, wine, etc., to kill most of the micro-organisms in it; distinguished from sterilization, which involves killing all of them. The surname is literally “Pastor.” Related: Pasteurized; pasteurizing. v.
- To treat by pasteurization.