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Calamansi – The Philippine Lemon

Food/Drink / by

Last year I wrote an article about Calamansi Juice, and how it is sort of the lemonade of the Philippines. Indeed, it is quite refreshing. But, Calamansi has so many other uses beyond just drinking. Let’s have a look and see how many different uses we can think of!

Uses of Calamansi:

  1. Juice, similar to lemonade.
  2. I like to add it to drinks like tea or coke to give a little citrus kick.
  3. Sawsawan, or dipping sauce that is used by most Filipinos for their food usually contains some Calamansi.
  4. Feyma often uses Calamansi in cooking when lemon OR lime is called for. One time she made a “Key Lime Pie” which was actually a “Key Calamansi Pie”!
  5. Calamansi can be used for cleaning purposes – like in laundry or other cleaning needs.
  6. Drinking warm Calamansi juice has medicinal value – it can help clear your lungs, clear up a raspy voice, etc.
  7. Many sauces to use for spicing your food here have calamansi as one of the key ingredients.
  8. It can be used to marinate foods before cooking.

What other uses of Calamansi do you know of? Let’s get a list together and see how many uses we can come up with!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Hi Bob,

    Here are a few uses I've run across. Have seen most "in action" but not all (freckle bleaching or dandruff eliminator).

    – Meat tenderizer (in line with marinating)
    – Scalp treatment to stop itching, dandruff and promote hair growth
    – Treatment for insect bites – eliminates itching & irritation
    – Facial beauty treatment – for bleaching freckles & clearing acne
    – Stain remover (does well on ink)
    – Hair gel when mixed with egg yolk

    Of course, gardens deserve a plant or two!

  4. Hi Paul – Nice list of uses there! I have heard of using calamansi as a scalp treatment, but had no idea about hair growth! That's interesting to hear! Thanks for sharing those tips!

  6. True..it does prevent body odor. When I was in highschool, I used to slice calamansi into halves and just rub it in my armpits w/o bothering to remove the seeds 😆 Needless to say, I had a very happy highschool life 😀 Besides, it has a bleaching qualities. It can remove those dark rings in around your neck, dark elbows and yes, dark armpits, and black heads.
    BTW, I switched to tawas now ( not the powdered ).

  7. Hi Bob,

    According to this article from Ilocos Sur

    it can also be used by atheletes to "sustain their stamina in any sports competition". It's good stuff!

  8. Hi Rob S – You know what they say – anything goes good with Tanduay!

    Hi Roy – Ha ha… That's an economical deodorant too! I imagine it works well too.

    Hi John in Austria – No fair – you got that article from one of MY websites! Ha ha… Calamansi is indeed some amazing stuff!

  9. -Cleaning the hands of that fish/ sea foods smell.

    I was surprised not to see this one on top of a list.

  12. My wife uses Calamansi flavored soy sauce for a lot of her cooking. It gives the food a nice zip, and is much more flavorful than the plain stuff.

    While we are on the subject of food, have you ever tried the homemade mango ice cream? My father in law has that as a side business. When I'm at his house I can't stop eating the stuff.

  13. Hi Joe Parisi – Sounds delicious! Calamansi is used for a food flavoring in soy sauce or vinegar or just by itself. I would guess that a huge majority of Filipinos use Calamansi in that way more than once per day!

    Oh, yes, I have indeed had homemade Mango Ice Cream! Delicious! 😆

  14. I have a question regarding applying calamansi on the skin to remove acne
    How long should I apply them? how many days?
    duration?

    it would be better if there were sources

    thank you

  15. Hi Doctor GG – I am sorry, I do not know the answer to your question. Perhaps somebody who knows will comment.

  18. I used to put calamansi in my face and I think it can help remove acne and blackheads but I stopped for couple of years now. I realized its important now, so I continued applying to my face again. It works with my acne and also smoothens my skin. People might want to use it as well and see if it works with them.
    I cant use chemicals cause my skin is very sensitive so natural products is the best solution for that!

  19. Its 100% true. I used calamansi in my skin and it works.it can helps to remove the blackheads, acne etc.
    And i also used it as a sawsawan'so delicious hehe. . Thank you Bob for the new insight i love it . .hehe

  20. hi i use calamansi everday all over my body.. is it true that it whitens the skin? i use it in my face too.. but you just need to apply moisturizer though..so just wants to know if its good to rub it on our skin.. it really whitens UA.. i know that for sure coz ive tried that

  21. need help with that.. so that i cans stop using it if it doenst work its really a hassle. but i want to whiten my skin..in a natural way

  22. there are many uses of calamnsi. it can remove pimples and moisturize your skin. i use it as my pimple remover, and it really really works….

  23. hi bob,

    thanks for this article. quick question: do you think calamansi juice is good for people with liver cirrhosis? i read somewhere that papaya seeds mixed with lime juice is good for that but i can't find lime in our place.

  24. calamnsi is also a good feminine wash..the juice of a medium size calamansi can be diluted into at least 500ml water and can be used as a final rinse.

  25. hi..are calamansi seeds a source of biofuel???how?? i badly need it for my investigatory project!!!

  26. hi Bob,

    calamansi puree mixed with honey is good for treating colds….
    try also mixing it with green tea and honey to treat sore throat.

  28. i’ve used calamansi to prevent body odor when i was in high school. but i have to stop it because it burnt my skin… i think i overused it. i have been using it for about six mos. everyday… then one day i have this feeling like the extract is stinging my underarms and when i looked at it a little closer , my skin was burned. i guess the skin has a threshold to the acids of calamansi.

  31. There’s a website I came across claiming that lemon cures cancer. Either that or it hinders/thwarts it more effectively. I’m not a doctor, but it’s easier for me to believe this than doubt it. Here’s the website:

    http://about-oia.org/en/home/doctor-z/186-lemon-cure-cancer-cells-a-must-read.html

    I’m also convinced [but cannot prove as yet] that ailments of the human body virtually all can be cured by a plant or fruit or rock or natural liquid available some place on earth.

    Hand in hand with this, there is a disturbing proof that some medicine from the West are actually questionable or inferior than those locally produced in third-world countries. One of the problems of the Filipino mindset is that he has been conditioned to think that almost everything coming from America is trustworthy and ‘superior’. This, more than all the reported corruptions from our country is THE REAL CORRUPTION: the intellectual corruption of many Filipinos. So, in essense, the Filipino hasn’t discovered himself yet. Here’s the website:

    http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=349
    It’s ironic that we are the most abused, cheated and raped by America, yet we are the country who trust them most, almost without question.

    [Note: It is, of course, up to you if you want to publish this post or not. But please check out the two websites. But know that I don’t talk from any ideological postion. In fact, I live my Catholic faith seriously and study her Social Doctrine found in a document, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,

    http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#Instruments%20for%20political%20participation

    In this document, read on Sections 414 – 416, about INFORMATION AND DEMOCRACY, and you’ll discover that their [America’s] politicians, media moguls and financial gurus are working together to thwart any significant progress of other countries that don’t agree with their agenda where they want to stay as the ‘superpower’. So, while they want poorer countries to be ‘transparent’ -TO THEM – they, in turn, hide many things from the world. So, the first real problem that the Philippines must address is cultural and intellectual: A working together of Faith and Reason, as expounded by Pope John Paul in ‘Fides et Ratio’.]

    So, there’s more to the Philippines and the Filipino than jsut the secrets of Kalamansi.

  32. hello. Iv’e been using calamansi to remove my pimples for i think almost 1 year. it really needs a lot of patience because the effect is not instant. it takes a while. well my pimples lessen now but i still have them! 🙁 i used it everyday all over my body. It really WHITENS believe me. I am whiter now than before. My friends doesn’t even believe that I’m using calamansi. they thought i use whitening soaps. well anyway, goodluck on using calamnsi. u can also try putting honey on your face for 10-15 minutes. even fresh tomatoes help. 🙂

  33. Yes it is 100% clearing pores.. i tried and my skin become smooth and whiter than before.. my skin is not that good but when i use it in to my skin, is really works and i love it! only the patience to apply..

  35. How many pieces of calamansi to a lemon? I can’t find calamansi in Los Angeles and I use calamansi in my marination? What is the size of the lemon? Thanks!