KALAMANSI

WHAT IS CALAMANSI AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Calamansi is a fruit about half the size of a lime and almost perfectly round. Though they ripen to orange, they’re usually picked while they’re still green. The flesh within is a bright and deep yellow-orange.

WHAT DOES CALAMANSI TASTE LIKE?
Calamansi has a citrus flavor that’s all its own and difficult to substitute. When they can’t find it, many Filipino cooks, my mom included, will swap in lemon when needed, but it’s not the perfect stand-in. Where a lemon is uniformly tart, the calamansi is less so, its flavor falling somewhere between the sourness of a lime and the sweetness of an orange.

WHAT DISHES IS CALAMANSI USED IN?
Calamansi lends a bright note to pancit dishes, particularly pancit bihon. It’s also squeezed onto the Filipino version of congee, called arroz caldo or lugaw—in a similar way to the use of lemon Greek rice soup avgolemono. It can also be mixed with soy sauce and garlic for a dipping sauce, and when it’s warm outside, you can make a lemonade-style drink (calam-ade?) by mixing the juice with water and sugar or honey, and pretend you’re on the sweaty streets of Manila.

WHAT ARE CALAMANSI’S NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS?
Like other citrus fruits, it’s high in vitamin C, which is said to boost immunity. It also has antioxidant effects and can soothe stomach acidity. It’s also rich in potassium, vitamin A, and calcium.