Vark

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This page is about the Indian confectionery garnish. VARK may also refer to NLP modalities.

for the town in Afghanistan see Vark, Afghanistan

Vark, Varak or Varakh (Hindi:वर्क) (IPA: [vərk]) is a foil of pure elemental silver that is used for garnishing Indian sweets. The silver is edible, though tasteless. Large quantities of ingested elemental silver can cause argyria, but the use of vark is not considered harmful to the body, since the quantities involved in normal use are minuscule.[1]

Vark is made by pounding silver into a thin sheet a few micrometres thick. When sold, Vark is backed with paper and peeled before use. It is extremely brittle and breaks into smaller pieces if touched.

Vegetarian lobbyists claim that Vark is hammered between animal fat or hide and thus a non-vegetarian product.

Vark sheets are laid or rolled over Indian "sweets" made from dates, nuts and various fruit and vegetable based rolls or sheet candies. Most of these "sweets" are made with little sugar and may not be so sweet to the American or European palate, but have a rich, nutty taste.