Vark

Varaq

Indian sweets garnished with vark
Alternative names	Varq, vark, varak, varakh, varakha etc.
Type	Garnish
Place of origin	Indian Subcontinent
Region or state	South Asia
Main ingredients	Silver, Gold

Vark, also called varak (also silver leaf, German paper) is any leaf composed of pure metals, typically silver but sometimes gold, used on South Asian sweets. The silver is edible, though flavorless. Varak is made by pounding silver into sheets, a few micrometres (µm) thick, typically 0.2 µm-0.8 µm. The sheets are typically backed with paper for support; this paper is peeled away before use. It is fragile and breaks into smaller pieces if handled with direct skin contact. Those leaves in the 0.2 µm thickness tend to adhere to skin if handled directly (due to thickness close to inter-atomic distance). Vark sheets are laid or rolled over some South Asian sweets. Edible silver and gold foils on sweets, confectionery and desserts is not unique to the Indian subcontinent; other regions such as Japan and Europe have long used precious metal foils as food cover and as decoration, including specialty drinks such as Danziger Goldwasser. It is also commonly used in India as coating on dry fruits (such as almonds, cashews, and dates), and in sugar balls, betel nuts, cardamom and other spices. Cardamom-coated sweets are very commonly present in the market. Concerns have been raised about the safety and ethical acceptability of Vark, as not all of it is pure silver, nor hygienically prepared, and the foil nowadays commonly is beaten between layers of ox-gut because it is easier to separate the silver leaf from animal tissue than to separate it from paper. It is considerable that some technologies evolved for the production of silver leaves i.e. in Russia, German, China and India. Technologies like beating over sheets of black special treated paper, polyester sheets coated with food grade calcium powder are used instead of ox-guts. Estimated consumption of Vark is 275 tons (according to BWC-Beauty without cruelty data) annually. Hindu and Jain religions are mostly vegetarian, thus the Indian market for Vark has mostly converted to using the vegetarian process in the making of the silver leaves.

Gold and silver are approved food foils in the European Union, as E175 and E174 additives respectively. The independent European food-safety certification agency, TÜV Rheinland, has deemed gold leaf safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaf are also certified as kosher. These inert precious metal foils are not considered toxic to human beings nor to broader ecosystems.