Our Cum Quats are flowering!

Some of you may wonder what I am talking about. Cum quat is similar to the Philippines’ calamansi or calamondin. We use it as a dipping sauce with soy sauce, as marinade, our replacement for the citrusy and lemony flavour that Westerners use, or as part of a refreshment. It is also perfect for any noodle (pansit) dish whether fried or with soup.

For the past five years, we have been replacing calamansi with lemon but the taste is still different. And we are still longing for that distinct taste. We are always happy if we see noodles served with cum quat at friend’s and relative’s parties. We have been wanting to have our own supply of cum quat so we purchased a plant in 2008. However, since then, it did not flower much and only a couple became fruits. It is only planted though in a big pot since we are only renting and only watered once a week because of the water restrictions and as advised by one relative.

Early 2011, we were inspired by the flowers of a friend’s newly planted cum quat. We thought that probably our cum quat plant has a problem or maybe it has acquired a disease so we purchased another one. Since mid-2011, Tatay has been looking after it really well. He even tried collecting his and Kimi’s first urine in the morning. I know it sounds gross but apparently it is a good fertiliser for citrus trees. Don’t worry, he dilutes it with water before pouring it to the cum quat.

our flowering cum quat

Tatay also fed the plant a bit of citrus-appropriate fertilizer. He regularly watered it except when we were away for Christmas holidays. We are all happy and excited whenever we see and smell its sweet-smelling flowers - they actually smell like Jasmine or Sampaguita (the national flower of the Philippines). I am especially ecstatic because I am already looking forward to enjoying my siomai with toyomansi (calamansi  plus soy sauce) or refreshing myself with calamansi juice. Now, I am crossing my fingers for a bountiful cum quat harvest.