Varak or Silver Foil on sweets
Seems increasing number of sweet sellers in India are tending to use aluminium foil instead of silver varak during festive season. In north india kaju and mawa mithais have this a lot.
Here is how you can identify adulterated-aluminium varak from silver one through any if 4 tests.
Test 1: It is a simple test that anyone can do at home. With your fingers, try to wipe off the silver leaf on top of sweets. If the residue sticks to the fingers, it means that the silver leaf is adulterated with aluminium. If it doesn't, then it means the sweets are safe to eat.
Test 2: Another simple test to test adulteration of silver leaf is by igniting a piece of silver leaf. Remove a layer of silver leaf from the sweets and ignite it or heat it. If it is made of silver it will turn into a ball of silver, whereas if adulterated it can turn black. Usually, it is adulterated with aluminium. You can know this if you burn it because aluminium turns into greyish black ashes.
Test 3: If you have access to chemical reagents or if you have diluted hydrochloric acid at your place, you can try this test. For this, place a silver leaf in a test tube and add diluted hydrochloric acid drop by drop. If it becomes turbid with a white precipitate, it means silver is present and hence, it is not adulterated. However, if it's adulterated with aluminium, on the addition of diluted HCl, it neither becomes turbid or precipitates.
Test 4: It is a simple home test that can help you to detect adulteration. You need to rub some silver leaf between the palms. If it is silver, it will disappear; however, if it is adulterated with aluminium, it will become a small ball. more
Here is how you can identify adulterated-aluminium varak from silver one through any if 4 tests.
Test 1: It is a simple test that anyone can do at home. With your fingers, try to wipe off the silver leaf on top of sweets. If the residue sticks to the fingers, it means that the silver leaf is adulterated with aluminium. If it doesn't, then it means the sweets are safe to eat.
Test 2: Another simple test to test adulteration of silver leaf is by igniting a piece of silver leaf. Remove a layer of silver leaf from the sweets and ignite it or heat it. If it is made of silver it will turn into a ball of silver, whereas if adulterated it can turn black. Usually, it is adulterated with aluminium. You can know this if you burn it because aluminium turns into greyish black ashes.
Test 3: If you have access to chemical reagents or if you have diluted hydrochloric acid at your place, you can try this test. For this, place a silver leaf in a test tube and add diluted hydrochloric acid drop by drop. If it becomes turbid with a white precipitate, it means silver is present and hence, it is not adulterated. However, if it's adulterated with aluminium, on the addition of diluted HCl, it neither becomes turbid or precipitates.
Test 4: It is a simple home test that can help you to detect adulteration. You need to rub some silver leaf between the palms. If it is silver, it will disappear; however, if it is adulterated with aluminium, it will become a small ball. more
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Will you please explain your sources of observations and as to whether had you verified its veracity? In this net age, every day we read some tips somewhere on health & hygiene related issues and obviously most of them contradict each other only making the common man totally confused and directionless. The posts create impression as if everything we eat are poison and their is no law enforcing agencies on the land to take care of such high handedness. In fact, our real health & hygiene issues are highly contaminated drinking water and air pollution to the extreme level. In my opinion, comments on such important issues need to be very cautiously and selectively made only after becoming 100% confirmed about the authenticity and veracity thereof to avoid panic creation in the society. more
Nov 10
There is very simple test to differentiate between silver and aluminium. Silver is insoluble in alkali whereas aluminium is soluble in alkali. One of the very common alkali is sodium carbonate/hydroxide. which is nothing but pure washing soda. Simply scratch the shining metal into sodium carbonate solution and warm it. Aluminium will dissolve in this solution liberating hydrogen whereas silver has no action at all. At this context it will be nice to read one of the articles of Mr Krishnan Melarkode Raman which is highly shocking as such more
Nov 02
