This is the word now used for the process of heating a food or drink to reduce its pathogen level. The process is far from new; the Chinese used a form of pasteurization to heat wine over 1,000 years ago. Until the 19th century the process was crude and the level of heat applied usually very high. Louis Pasteur, the French chemist, found that by controlling the heat at around 60 degrees Celsius (see our previous word of the day Celsius) he could reduce the acidity of wines without losing their flavor and kill bacteria in milk, leaving it fresh for weeks. One of the key figures in the history of disease prevention, Pasteur gave his name to a process that lives on to this day.
20 May /13
