Arctic culinary adventure

Stay in a stunning ice hotel and enjoy a traditional Sami feast in Lapland

Discover the dramatic landscapes of Lapland, stay in the worldfamous Icehotel and sample traditional Sami foods on this four-day Arctic adventure.

During your stay you’ll enjoy two nights in the Icehotel – magnificently carved each winter from the frozen River Torne – firstly in an Ice Room (optional upgrade to an Art suite) and then in a warm Kaamos Room. There will also be time for unforgettable optional activities, including husky sledding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and crosscountry skiing*.

You will also spend a night at Camp Ripan in Kiruna, where you will enjoy a Sami meal to remember in the awardwinning sensory restaurant Andrum, Breathing Space.

You will also enjoy access to the Aurora Spa, whose thermal experiences offer the perfect way to unwind. And, being so far north, there’s always the chance of spotting the northern lights dancing in the night sky.

DEPARTURE DATES:

• 17, 24 & 31 December 2020

• 14, 21 & 28 January 2021

• 4, 11, 18 & 25 February 2021

• 4, 11 & 18 March 2021

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

• A night in an Ice Room and another in a warm Kaamos Room at Icehotel, plus another night in a Kiruna Cabin at Camp Ripan (with breakfast included)

• An evening culinary experience with Camp Ripan’s master chef in a stunning private dining room with panoramic views – you will sample raw and foraged foods, and learn the stories behind each dish

• Access to the therapeutic thermal experiences at the Aurora Spa in Camp Ripan, including warm indoor and outdoor pools, and aroma and mineral saunas

• Return flights from Heathrow to Kiruna (via Stockholm), plus airport and hotel transfers within Sweden

• Use of thermal suit, boots and mittens at Icehotel

Butter

If you’ve ever inadvertently over-whipped double cream for a pavlova (the cream goes grainy and a thin, clear liquid splits from it), then congratulations – you were on the way to making butter! Butter is simply cream that’s been agitated until the fat and liquid elements separate from each other. The fat solids are butter, and the liquid is known as buttermilk.

So essentially, butter is made from just one ingredient: milk. Milk used to be left in vats to settle (the thicker, more buoyant and fat-heavy cream was scooped off the top) – but now sophisticated centrifuges are used to isolate the cream.

Ghee

Ghee is Indian clarified butter. Traditionally it is made from rich buffalo butter that’s heated low and slow to separate and caramelise the milk solids. A clear, golden-hued fat is the result.

Ghee is used in Indian homes during auspicious occasions (often to light lamps/diyas) and it’s also known to have healing properties. But it is primarily used during cooking, or as a delicious accompaniment at meals. “My favourite is a dollop of ghee over dahl and rice,” says our Indian cookery expert Maunika Gowardhan. “It reminds me of home and my childhood.”

Ghee lends a nutty, intense flavour to dishes and is perfect to use as a cooking fat because it has a very high smoking point, especially when compared to regular clarified butter and most cooking oils. “I always recommend using it sparingly though, as a little goes a long way,” says Maunika.

Shelf life/ how to store

All dairy products are best kept in the fridge, or in a cool dark place at the very least. Fat turns rancid much quicker at room temperature, and especially if it’s kept in direct sunlight. Part of ghee’s appeal is that, because all of the solids and water have been removed by long, slow simmering, it is very pure and so keeps for a long time without refrigeration. If you’ve made your own butter, then it will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.