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Soft drinks from Southern Mexico

Atole agrio (sour atole)atole agrio

Atole agrio is a sour maize drink from southern Mexico. Maize kernels soak in water for one to five days while lactic bacteria sour them, then the grain is ground and strained, and the liquid is boiled into a gruel, often with panela, cinnamon and cloves.

Fully documentedSoft drinks2 days – 6 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts are published. The soak is judged by how sour the maker wants the drink.
Maize kernelsWhite or yellow maize; blue maize in Veracruz; black maize in one Mexican form[lopez2025][fao138-ch4][torres2025]
WaterFor soaking, then for cooking[lopez2025]
Panela, cinnamon and clovesAdded once the strained liquid boils[lopez2025]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 days – 6 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countWeissellaPediococcusLactococcusLactobacilluspH 4SugarsLactic acid

What changes: Maize soaks for days and lactic bacteria sour it

Step 1 of 5
Soak the maize kernels until sour
Time
24 h – 5 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 4
Measured
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Weissella
Pediococcus
Lactococcus
Lactobacillus
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: soured, softened kernels.

Flavour
turns sour
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactic fermentation starts in the soaking water

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Atole agrio is a sour maize drink from southern Mexico. Maize kernels soak in water for one to five days while lactic bacteria sour them, then the grain is ground and strained, and the liquid is boiled into a gruel, often with panela, cinnamon and cloves. Made in 5 steps over 2 days – 6 days. The longest step, soak the maize kernels until sour, takes 24 h – 5 days (López-Reynoso M 2025). Weissella and Pediococcus pentosaceus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 h – 5 daysReported[lopez2025][fao138-ch4]Soak the maize kernels until sour
AciditypH 4Measured[torres2025]Soak the maize kernels until sour

What makes this one different

Pozol starts from maize cooked with lime; atole agrio starts from kernels soaked in plain water, and the souring happens in that soak. Unlike tejuino, no sugar is added before fermenting.

Related ferments

Safety

One study found Enterobacteriaceae abundant all through the fermentation. The liquid is boiled before it is served.

Hazards the sources name: Enterobacteriaceae, abundant throughout the fermentation; Coliforms, with fungi and yeasts, early in the fermentation (blue-maize atole agrio).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

A sour atole called xoxoatolli, made with black maize, salt and chili, is recorded in Valley of Mexico writings of 1570–1587 as a morning remedy for the sick, in the Nahuatl dictionary's quotation of Francisco Hernández.

  1. [fao138-ch4] Lorence-Quiñones A., Wacher-Rodarte C., Quintero-Ramírez R. 1999, Cereal fermentations in Latin American countries, in Haard N.F. et al., Fermented cereals, a global perspective, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 138, ch. 4gov
  2. [lopez2025] López-Reynoso M., Martínez-Medina G.A., Londoño-Hernández L., Aguilar-Zarate P. et al. 2025, Corn-based fermented beverages, nutritional value, microbial dynamics, and functional potential, an overview, Foods 15(1):27paper
  3. [vakevainen2018] Väkeväinen K., Valderrama A., Espinosa J. et al. 2018, Characterization of lactic acid bacteria recovered from atole agrio, a traditional Mexican fermented beverage, LWT (abstract)paper
  4. [perez2018] Pérez-Cataluña A., Elizaquível P., Carrasco P., Espinosa J., Reyes D., Wacher C., Aznar R. 2018, Diversity and dynamics of lactic acid bacteria in atole agrio, a traditional maize-based fermented beverage from south-eastern Mexico, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (abstract)paper
  5. [torres2025] Torres-Gregorio M., Ribas-Aparicio R.M., Aguilera-Arreola M.G. et al. 2025, Probiotic potential of some lactic acid bacteria isolated from blue maize atole agrio from Veracruz, México, Preprints (not peer reviewed; abstract)other
  6. [nahuatl-dict] Wood S. (ed.), Online Nahuatl Dictionary, entry xoxoatolli, University of Oregon Wired Humanities Projects, quoting The Mexican Treasury, the writings of Francisco Hernández, ed. Varey, Stanford University Press 2000, p. 112archive