The chapter presents a review on the history of the application of electricity in food processing. The early works before the middle of the twentieth century on the bactericidal and plasmolysis effects of electricity were shortly presented. Development of the concept of electroplasmolysis with a description of the activity of key persons (Anatolii Zagorul’ko and Boris Flaumenbaum) in the 1950s is described in detail. The early practical applications of pulsed electric fields and the role of Heinz Doevenspeck are discussed. Then food-oriented applications of electric power treatments (electroplasmolysis, cooking and electroheating, and microbial killing) and construction of electro-apparatuses developed in the 1960s–1990s are presented. Finally, the recent tendencies of pulsed electric energy applications in food processing operations are outlined.
