Tofu is often not love at first sight. It does not look very nice and attractive, rather a bit colourless. And it lacks, to put it bluntly, a distinct flavour. So it's love that has to grow, that you have to discover. Because tofu is really not as pale as you might initially think.

Tofu is curdled soy milk that is pressed into a block. It can be very soft or very firm. The texture of soya is slightly spongy, which means that it easily absorbs other flavours.

In European cuisine, tofu is a relative newcomer. Many people do not (yet) know how to cook with it. Moreover, in Europe tofu is far too often referred to as a meat substitute. This is a shortcoming of tofu, because it is not an alternative, but a versatile first choice. You can bake it, fry it, add it to soup or eat it raw, and it is suitable for savoury and sweet dishes, and therefore also for desserts.

Tofu originally comes from China, where it was already being made a few thousand years ago. There are even murals from 200 BC on which tofu is depicted. The name means as much as 'curds of beans'.

From China, tofu first finds its way into Japanese and other Asian cuisines. And just to clear up an existing confusion, in many Asian countries it is called tohu or tauhu.

There are many different types of tofu. Tofu is quite similar to cheese, not only because of the way it is made, but also because of how the product looks. Just like cheese, you can find tofu in all kinds of variations, from hard to soft.

To make it easy, you can divide tofu into two groups: you have firm tofu (good for stir-frying or frying) and what they call silken tofu or Japanese tofu, which is softer and very suitable to be used raw (because it falls apart quickly). Silken tofu is better for sauces and smoothies.

Although tofu scares many people at first, you can easily cook with it yourself. If you buy firm tofu, it usually still contains a lot of moisture. You have to get rid of that moisture, because it prevents you from being able to fry the tofu properly and it prevents the tofu from absorbing the taste you want. So put the tofu on a plate, with an inverted plate on top that gently presses down on the tofu. Put it in the fridge overnight and the next day you can work your magic with the tofu.

The fact that tofu has little flavour is actually an advantage. Give it the taste you want, for example by marinating it in cubes or by frying it as minced meat. Tofu is suitable for salads (you can replace eggs with tofu cubes), soups, stir-fries, smoothies and desserts (try chocolate mousse with soft tofu!). It is 100% vegetable, high in protein, calcium and iron (which is why it is considered a meat substitute), but low in calories and fat, and naturally gluten-free.