Tofu: you either love it, or you haven't had it prepared well. The jiggly soybean product has been around for eons—William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyag's History of Tofu dug up a mention of tofu in a Chinese text dating to 950 AD. Buddhist monks spread the good word about tofu across Japan and Korea, and a few centuries later, the protein made its way to the U.S. (Fun fact: Benjamin Franklin is the earliest known American to write about tofu, in a letter mailed —with soybean samples —from London to Philadelphia in 1770.) Packaged tofu cakes hit American grocery stores in the late 1950s, packed in water-filled, heat-sealed plastic bags. But tofu wasn't exactly an instant hit.

During its introduction to the US, tofu was mildly misunderstood by some to downright reviled by others. With a reputation as bland and boring, most American families shied away from the wobbly blocks. As recently as 1986, tofu was declared America's most loathed food. But the misunderstanding between Americans and tofu has eroded in recent years. In fact, tofu—high in protein, low in cost, and easy to work with—has come to endear itself to our country. Today, it's widely accepted and commonplace at many restaurants and grocers, where shoppers have a vast array of tofus to choose from.
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http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/shopping-cooking-guide-different-tofu-types.html