March/April: Pasteur & Bernard Test Pasteurisation

On March 3rd, 1862, Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard initiated a process to test pasteurisation, completing it on April 20. The test involved heating blood and urine in sealed containers.  At the end of the test it was observed that no fermentation or decomposition had taken place.  This observation indicated it would be possible to heat food and liquid in order to kill germs without altering their chemical composition in any significant way. 

The images of Pasteur and Bernard shown here are from the RSCs image collection. 

Louis Pasteur is also the author of some of the letters we have in our collection of manuscript letters to Henry Roscoe, written in the 1880s. 

Letter from Pasteur to Roscoe

For further information on Pasteur and the process of pasteurisation please visit the links below: