''Atole'' (, believed to come from

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

'' ātōlli'' or from Mayan), also known as ''atolli'', ''atol'' and ''atol de elote'', is a traditional hot

masa ''Masa'' or ''masa de maíz'' (; ) is a dough made from ground nixtamalized maize. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', '' tamales'', '' pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a flour f ...

-based beverage of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

origin. Atole can have different flavors added, such as vanilla, cinnamon, and guava.

Chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

''atole'' is known as ''

champurrado Champurrado is a chocolate-based ''atole'', a warm and thick Mexican cuisine, Mexican beverage. It is prepared with either a ''masa'' (Limewater#Food Preparation, lime-treated corn dough),'' masa harina'' (a dried version of this dough), or maize ...

'' or simply ''atole''. It typically accompanies

tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

s and is very popular during

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

(observed November 2) and ''

Las Posadas ''Las Posadas'' is a Novena, ''novenario'' (an extended devotional prayer). It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and by Latin Americans in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year bet ...

'' (Christmas holiday season).

Mayan origin

Many Classic Maya painted vessels feature a genre of inscriptions known as the “dedicatory formula” or the “primary standard sequence” (PSS) and the two main ingredients mentioned in the contents section of the PSS were cacao and atole.

Regional variations

Mexico

In Mexico, the drink typically includes ''masa'' (corn

hominy Hominy is a food item produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization ( is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with lye. History The process ...

flour), water, ''

piloncillo Panela () or rapadura (Portuguese pronunciation: ) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other names in Lati ...

'' (unrefined cane sugar), cinnamon, vanilla, and optional chocolate or fruit. The mixture is blended and heated before serving. ''Atole'' is made by toasting ''masa'' on a ''

comal Comal may refer to: * COMAL, a computer programming language * Comal (cookware), a type of griddle Places * Comal River (Indonesia) * Comal County, Texas, U.S. * Comal River, Texas, U.S. * Comal Springs (Texas), U.S. See also

* {{disa ...

'' (griddle), then adding water that was boiled with cinnamon sticks.

Central America

In Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, ''atol de elote'' (maize ''atol''), or simply ''atole'', is a popular beverage. Pineapple ''atol'' (''atol de piña'') is also consumed in El Salvador. Guatemalan varieties include ''atol shuco'' ("dirty" ''atol'', a reference to its darker color), particularly popular in the city.Fiestas Cabañas
, ''Guanaquín'' (in Spanish; includes recipe). Retrieved 2008-03-30.

Guatemala

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development provided funding to INCAP to carry out a community randomized trial to test the hypothesis that improved protein intakes lead to better child development test scores. They were given a high-protein atole-like beverage made from INCAPARINA (a vegetable protein mixture developed by INCAP which mainly contains corn), dry skim milk, sugar, and a flavoring agent.

New Mexico

In many parts of Mexico and in the United States in communities with Indigenous, Hispanic, or Mexican cultural roots, ''atole'' is a traditional

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a ...

. It is often eaten as a breakfast or an after-dinner snack on cold days. In

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

blue corn Blue corn (also known as Hopi maize, Yoeme Blue, Tarahumara Maiz Azul, and Rio Grande Blue) is a group of several closely related varieties of flint corn grown in Mexico, the Southwestern United States, and the Southeastern United States. It i ...

''atole'' is finely ground cornmeal toasted for cooking, consumed as a grainy

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

-style drink served warm, usually sweetened with sugar or thinned with milk. It is usually served at breakfast like cream of wheat or oatmeal. Elders are said to have drunk ''atole'' because it gave them energy. A mother who is nursing will drink ''atole'' to give her more milk. The Puebloan peoples of New Mexico sometimes call ''atole'' ''chaquehue'' or ''chaquewa''. The

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...

began to cultivate corn around 2000 BCE, and used advanced irrigation ditches as early as 205 CE. Later, during the time of Spanish colonialization, blue corn was irrigated by Moorish-influenced

acequia An acequia () or (, also known as síquia , all from ) is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Acequias are found in parts of Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and what i ...

systems. The Hopi plant blue corn seeds in bundles of several seeds to one hole, sometimes quite deep to reach ground water. Atole porridge is called mush by the

Diné The Navajo or Diné are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Navajo language, Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Din ...

, and includes the addition of juniper ash. It is called ''wataca'' by the

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

. Atole flour is used to create Hopi piki bread.

Cultural references

The beverage is referenced in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

''dar atole con el dedo'' ("to give ''atole'' with the thumb"), which means to placate with deception. It may originate from the idea of

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...

s using ''atole'' on their thumbs to placate infants; alternatively, it may refer to the practice of distributing tamales and ''atole'' during periods of drought in

pre-Columbian Mexico The pre-Columbian (or prehispanic) history of the territory now making up the country of Mexico is known through the work of archaeologists and epigraphers, and through the accounts of Spanish conquistadores, settlers and clergymen as well as ...

References

{{corn Cuisine of the Southwestern United States Day of the Dead food Guatemalan cuisine Hot drinks Maize-based drinks Mesoamerican cuisine Mexican drinks New Mexican cuisine Non-alcoholic drinks Porridges Salvadoran cuisine