Although tofu — a staple of the Japanese diet — is made from soy milk, the liquid ingredient was shunned by much of the country until just a few decades ago.

Originally thought to have been introduced from China as far back as the Nara Period (710-94), soy milk never became a part of everyday life in Japan like it did in its country of origin. Most Japanese people objected to its grassy taste and slight bitterness — qualities that vanished when the liquid was processed into tofu, which was embraced from the start.

In fact, tofu has remained so consistently popular that “Toufu Hyakuchin” (“A Hundred Delicacies of Tofu”), a bestselling cookbook first published in 1782, is still in print in translated form today.

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