Atole de fresa: what it is and how to make the creamy drink

What is it?

Atole de fresa is a hot Mexican drink of intense pink colour, prepared with fresh or frozen strawberries blended with milk, sugar, cinnamon and a thickener based on cornflour or masa. Its flavour is sweet with a tart touch, its texture creamy and comforting. It is one of the most popular modern atoles in the country, especially among children and young people, and forms an indispensable part of the December posadas, the pastorelas and Christmas breakfasts. It is consumed throughout Mexico with special roots in strawberry-growing areas such as Irapuato, Zamora and the Sierra Norte de Puebla. Unlike the pre-Hispanic atoles, the strawberry one is a more recent creation of the mestizo repertoire, derived from the introduction of European strawberry cultivation to Mexican territory in the nineteenth century.

Origin and history

Although the atole as a category is pre-Hispanic, atole de fresa belongs to the post-colonial period. The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) reached Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century from Europe; the Bajío and Michoacán became producing epicentres around 1900. Irapuato was declared 'strawberry capital of the world' in the mid-twentieth century and began to hold the Strawberry Fair, where atole de fresa became popular as an emblematic drink. Larousse Cocina classes it among the best-selling fruit atoles in urban atolerías of central Mexico. In Zamora, Michoacán, another strawberry region par excellence, variants were developed that combine strawberry with cajeta from Celaya. The recipe took its definitive form during the twentieth century with the incorporation of pasteurised milk and industrial cornflour, replacing the traditional masa in many atolerías. Today it coexists with older atoles such as guava or champurrado on posada menus.

Characteristic ingredients

Ripe fresh strawberries are the main ingredient; the sweetest and reddest give the best colour and aroma. They are washed, hulled and blended with cold milk until a homogeneous pulp is obtained. Whole milk is the traditional liquid base; some recipes combine it with condensed milk for greater creaminess. The thickener may be cornflour dissolved in cold milk (two tablespoons per litre) or nixtamalised maize masa for more traditional versions. The cinnamon stick is infused throughout cooking, lending the warm aroma characteristic of atoles. The sweetener is refined sugar or condensed milk; piloncillo is not used because it would alter the pink colour. Frozen strawberry also works, especially out of season. Some families add vanilla, lime zest or pieces of fresh strawberry at the end as a garnish. The usual proportion is three hundred grams of strawberry per litre of milk.

Cultural significance

Atole de fresa is an icon of the December posadas, the pastorelas and the Mexican Christmas festivities. Alongside champurrado and tejocote punch it forms the trinity of hot drinks served in the nine days before Christmas. In Irapuato and Zamora it stars at the regional strawberry fairs, where it is sold in clay pots to visitors. Traditional Mexican cuisine, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, includes fruit atoles as a modern expression of gastronomic mestizaje. The Mexican strawberry industry, according to SADER data, exports close to five hundred thousand tonnes a year and sustains more than thirty thousand families of the Bajío. Domestic consumption, where the atole plays a relevant role alongside jams and desserts, has grown with the promotion of regional fairs and winter gastronomic tourism.

Frequently asked questions