Homogenization is any of several processes used to make a mixture of two mutually non-soluble liquids the same throughout. It is used, for example, to delay the separation of fat from milk.

Milk, a rather unstable emulsion, contains fat globules that tend to coalesce. In homogenization the milk is heated to about 60°C and passed at pressure through small openings. The fatty clusters are broken up by shearing as they pass through the holes, by the action of pressure, and by impact with components of the homogenizer.