Marring

In order to thaw frozen meat without marring its flavor, it is best practice to do so slowly and at a low temperature.

[…]Hath all his ventures fail'd? What, not one hit? From Tripolis, from Mexico, from England, From Lisbon, Barbary, and India? And not one vessel scape the dreadful touch Of merchant-marring rocks?

Unable to read even as much of them as the scamps who wrote them and could read nothing more, the smuggler had finally trained himself to ignore them; they were marrings to be overlooked while the eye was out for other, more meaningful detail.