Atole (Spanish:[aˈtole]ⓘ, believed to come from Nahuatlātōlli[aːˈtoːlːi] or from Mayan),[1] also known as atolli, atol and atol de elote, is a traditional hot masa-based beverage of Mexican origin. Atole can have different flavors added such as vanilla, cinnamon, and guava.[2]Chocolateatole is known as champurrado or simply atole. It typically accompanies tamales and is very popular during Day of the Dead (observed November 2) and Las Posadas (Christmas holiday season).
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.[3]
In Mexico, the drink typically includes masa (corn hominy flour), water, piloncillo (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 (griddle), then adding water that was boiled with cinnamon sticks.[2]
The resulting blends vary in texture, ranging from a porridge to a very thin, liquid consistency. Atole can also be prepared with rice, wheat, or oatmeal in place of masa. In northern Mexico, a variation is also made using pinole (sweetened toasted cornmeal). Although atole is one of the traditional drinks of the Mexican holidays Day of the Dead and Las Posadas, it is very common during breakfast and dinnertime at any time of year. It is usually sold as street food.[citation needed]
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. Salvadoran varieties include atol shuco ("dirty" atol, a reference to its darker color), particularly popular in the Cabañas region.[4] An emblematic variation exists in Nicaragua, called pinolillo. In some parts of Honduras, fresh corn is ground and the expressed liquid is used as the base (instead of masa).[citation needed]
In Guatemala, 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.[5] 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.[6]
In many parts of Mexico and in the United States in communities with Indigenous, Hispanic and Mexican cultural roots, atole is a traditional comfort food. It is often eaten as a breakfast or an after dinner snack on cold days. In New Mexico, blue cornatole is finely ground cornmeal toasted for cooking, consumed as a grainy porridge-style drink served warm, usually sweetened with sugar and/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 and if a mother is nursing it gives her more milk.[7] In New Mexico the Puebloan peoples sometimes call it chaquehueorchaquewa.[8] The Ancestral Puebloans began to cultivate corn around 2000 BCE, and advanced irrigation ditches in 205 CE. Later during the time of Spanish colonialization, blue corn was irrigated by Moorish-influenced acequia systems. The Hopi plant blue corn seeds in bundles of several seeds to one hole, sometimes quite deep to reach ground water.[9] Atole porridge is called mush by the Diné, and includes the addition of juniper ash. It is called wataca by the Hopi. Atole flour is used to create Hopi piki bread.[8][2]
The beverage is referenced in the Spanishidiomdar atole con el dedo ("to give atole with the thumb"), which means to placate with deception. It may originate from the idea of wet nurses 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.[10]
