David Mintz, known as “the P.T. Barnum of tofu,” developed a nondairy dessert for his Jewish customers craving ice cream after dinner but forbidden by faith to mix milk with meat. Enter Tofutti, a creation made with tofu that satisfies kosher Jews as well as those who are allergic to dairy, are diabetic or vegan, or who are dieting to reduce their cholesterol. Tofutti made a multimillionaire of David Mintz, who died Feb. 24 at a hospital in Englewood, NJ, near his home in Tenafly. He was 89.

Tofutti took several years of experimentation and its creator gained 50 pounds in the process, according to The New York Times. A carton of soy milk purchased in Chinatown led the way to gallons of unappetizing gelatinous white concoctions poured down the drain of his kitchen in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. “I am personally responsible for clogging the sewers of New York City,” he told Forbes magazine in 1984. Finally, in 1981, Mr. Mintz tasted victory by incorporating tofu into his recipe.