Vark (also varak, Waraq, or warq) is a fine filigree foil sheet of pure metal, typically silver but sometimes gold, used to decorate Indian sweets and food. The silver and gold are edible, though flavorless. Vark is made by pounding silver into sheets less than one micrometre (μm) thick, typically 0.2–0.8 μm. The silver sheets are typically packed between layers of paper for support; this paper is peeled away before use. It is fragile and breaks into smaller pieces if handled with direct skin contact. Leaf that is 0.2 μm thick tends to stick to skin if handled directly.

Vark sheets are laid or rolled over some Indian sweets, confectionery, dry fruits and spices. It is also placed onto mounds of saffron rice on platters.

For safety and ethical reasons, the Government of India has issued food safety and product standards guidelines for manufacturers of silver foil.

Varaka means cloth, cloak or a thing that covers something else. Vark is sometimes spelled Varaq, varq, vark, varkh, varakh, varkha, or waraq (Hindi: वरक़, Urdu: ورق Hindi pronunciation: [ʋəɾəq]). In Persian, varaqa or barga, means a sheet, leaf or foil.

Vark is made by placing the pure metal dust between parchment sheets, then pounding the sheets until the metal dust molds into a foil, usually less than one micrometre (μm) thick, typically 0.2–0.8 μm. The sheets are typically packed with paper for support; this paper is peeled away before use. it generally takes 2 hours to pound the silver particles into foils.

Particles were traditionally manually pounded between the layers of ox gut or cow hide. It is easier to separate the silver leaf from the animal tissue than to separate it from the paper. Due to the concerns of the vegetarian population of India, manufacturers have switched to the modern technologies that have evolved for the production of silver leaves in India, Germany, Russia and China. Modern technologies include beating over sheets of black special treated paper or polyester sheets coated with food grade calcium powder (nicknamed "German plastic") are used instead of ox-guts or cow hide. Old City in Hyderabad used to be the hub of traditional manual manufacturing, where it is a dying trade. Delhi is a new hub of vark manufacturing in India.

The silver is edible, though flavourless. It is also commonly used in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as coating on sweets, dry fruits, and in sugar balls, betel nuts, cardamom, and other spices. Estimated consumption of vark is 275 tons annually.^{[citation needed]}

Using 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 also been using precious metal foils as food cover and decoration, including specialty drinks such as Goldwasser and Goldschläger.