Calamansi

Get to know it

Calamansi looks like a tiny orange and gives a sharp, fragrant squeeze. In the Philippines, its juice seasons beef, makes a soy-sauce dip and becomes a cold drink with sugar and water. Even an orange-skinned fruit has sour flesh.

What it is

Also called calamondin or Philippine lime, calamansi is Citrus × microcarpa. Each fruit is about 2.5–3.8 cm (1–1½ in) across, with a thin, smooth rind that ranges from greenish to orange at ripeness. Inside is juicy orange flesh and a few seeds.

The peel is sweet and edible. The juice carries the sharpness, which is why this little citrus works as a seasoning even when it looks like a sweet orange.

Where it comes from

Calamansi has been grown in the Philippines for centuries, in home gardens as well as commercial orchards. It also grows in India, Malaysia and other parts of southern Asia.

David Fairchild brought it to Florida from Panama in 1899. In the US it also became a garden and patio plant, grown for decoration in gardens and containers.

How it's eaten where it grows

In the Philippines, bistek Tagalog is thinly sliced beef braised with calamansi juice, soy sauce, onions, garlic and pepper, then served with steamed rice. Toyomansi combines soy sauce, or toyo, with calamansi. It is a dip for grilled or fried meat and seafood, and also works as a marinade.

For a calamansi drink, the squeezed juice is mixed with water and a syrup of equal parts sugar and water, then chilled or poured over ice. The same fruit supplies both the sour part of dinner and the drink alongside it.

How it's grown

The evergreen tree has fragrant leaves and white flowers. It grows well in a large pot in a sunny spot, with some afternoon shade. A well-tended potted tree can bear a crop at two years.

Its flowers can set fruit without pollen from another tree. Flowers and fruit develop in batches through the year, and growers harvest by clipping the stems.

When and where you'll find it

In Oriental Mindoro in the Philippines, production usually peaks from July to November. Fresh fruits are sold in Philippine wet markets and groceries. In the US, fresh calamansi reaches Asian and Filipino groceries, and the juice also travels frozen or as concentrate.

Calamansi juice also comes in bottles. Sun Tropics makes an unsweetened version that is not from concentrate. Fresh fruit keeps poorly and is best used within a week of picking.

Sources · 7

Get it near Detroit

What it tastes like

Tarter than a grapefruit, sweeter than a lemon≈

Not sweetlemonapplebananaSweet

MildbananaappleSour

SoftbananaappleCrisp

More about the taste

Calamansi, also called calamondin, is a tart little citrus — quite sour, and especially useful for flavoring food and drinks.

The juice is highly aromatic and very tart; a bright orange rind doesn’t mean sweeter juice.

Choose, ripen, store, eat

1ChooseThin, smooth rind
Look for
Thin, smooth rind
The rind is thin and smooth, ranging from greenish to orange at maturity.
2RipenCalamansi is characteristically tart even when ripe
Calamansi is characteristically tart even when ripe.
3StoreUse calamansi within a week of harvest
Use calamansi within a week of harvest; it doesn’t store well.
4EatJuice, Whole fruit
Eat
JuiceWhole fruit
The juice is widely used, and the whole fruit is also used in cooking.

Detroit, Michigan

When it’s good here

Grown here

Ships from other states

Cook it

Recipes 3

1 Calamansi festival

Kalamansi Fest TorontoAugToronto, Ontario, Canada · Organiser ↗Aug

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Strange but true

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Close relatives

Sources

Calamansi · Fruitopia · checked Sep 22, 2026