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Silver Sweetmeat

Gift Giving Options for Various Occasions

 Gifts are the ideal way to express mutual love and affection with each other in the busy society of today. They form the basis of mutual trust and bonding that people share with one another. I'm sure that as a child, you still remember your first gift - perhaps a toy from your parents, or your near and dear ones. It is not difficult to imagine how you must have clung to that gift with joy and delight. It is also possible that you shared the gift and your feelings of happiness with your siblings and friends alike.

If you are a grown up, you would have indisputably received gifts from your friends and acquaintances at some point of time. I'm sure that you would have cherished that gift equally. So, have you ever wondered why people gift and what makes gifts so popular? To begin with, let us try and understand how the concept of gifts originated and how exchanging gifts has become a popular activity today.

Since ancient times, humanity is familiar with gifts in one form or another. People exchange gifts as a token of love and appreciation between them. Many people exchange gifts on religious and social events also. The custom of exchanging gifts is as varied and diverse as the various cultures around the world.

The notion of gifts has expanded with the development of civilization. As society progressed, the concept of what can be gifted has acquired a wider and deeper meaning. Frankly, any thing that carries an evocative and nostalgic value can be considered as a gift. Today, people exchange gifts on a variety of festive and jovial occasions.

The idea of presenting gifts in India is also well established since ancient times. Ancient Indians gifted grain, cattle, fabric, pottery, and even gold and silver ornaments to their peers and loved ones. The custom of giving gifts is as popular in modern India as it is the world over. India's innumerable festivals, traditions, and diverse cultures form the perfect occasion for mutually exchanging gifts. People exchange gifts on festivals and events like Diwali, New Year, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, Father's day, Mother's day, Valentine's day and Dussera.

Exchanging gifts is not limited to social events alone. It is also popular in corporate and business circles to promote the company and increase brand awareness. Items like pen holders, diaries, calendars, folders, mugs and other exquisite objects make an ideal gift for the modern business person.

For the perfect occasion, items like flowers, cakes, chocolates, cosmetics, handicraft items, dry fruits, fancy bags, perfumes, photo frames, roses, sarees, soft toys, sweets, and wall pictures are simply great. For many people, flowers are the perfect method of communicating their love, fondness and affection. Cakes and chocolates are more preferred by teenagers and the younger generation. Cosmetics and perfumes are usually chosen by the youthful people on the move. Other traditional minded people go in for conventional sweetmeats and mithais instead. Many people in society do not like to follow the norm, and go in for alternative gifts like those made from recycled material. Many people express their feelings with the help of greeting cards. It is not surprising that the greeting cards industry has grown in strength and dimension because of the popularity of sending cards to each other.

Buying gift items online is also becoming an extremely popular experience too. A casual search on popular search engines will reveal that there are many online websites that cater to the gifts market. Sending gifts online has become very simple indeed. Merely click on the product, fill in the shipping details and pay by credit card or an agency like PayPal through a secure gateway. The online merchant will process your payment details and send the gift to the intended person. Therefore, don't let any cheerful occasion pass away without involving gifts. Make a gift to your beloved parents, friends, or partners, and see their smile grow!

 

 

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Gifts to India - Infibeam.com is an exciting new online destination and community that focuses on selling latest Mobiles, Books, Cameras, Apparels, Jewellery and Send Gifts to India at guaranteed lowest price.

what is the edible silver stuff on almond paste sweetmeat called?

It's called VARAKH:

Almost everyone loves sweets that have silver foil on them. The mass appeal of varakh has a stranglehold on peoples' minds, increasing the demand for it and thereby its supply.

Silver foil, or varakh, as it is generally known in India, adds glitter to Indian sweets, supari, paan, and fruits. It is also used in Ayurvedic medicines and on deities in many Jain temples. The silver-topped sweet is even served as 'prasad' in temples and on auspicious and religious as well as family and social occasions. Varakh is used in flavored syrups as in kesar (saffron) syrup, and also finds use in cosmetics.

For thousands of years gold and silver have been part of daily life in India. Children are given tiny silver cups spoons and plates as gifts married couples buy whole dining sets of crafted silver and even the poorest of the poor save to buy thin silver anklets. In fact silver is even used in food. Added as a garnish over sweets edible foil can be seen shimmering in the glass cases of any sweetmeat shop. It is so popular that India converts 13 tonnes of pure silver into edible silver foil each year.

manufacture
Although it is hard to imagine biting into silver edible silver leaf is quite different. Small balls of gold or silver are placed between sheets of tissue paper laid net in a leather pouch. This is beaten repeatedly but carefully with a heavy metal hammer flanening the balls into paper thin sheets.

appearance and taste
Silver foil is as thin as the best chiffon and lustrous. It is extremely fragile and often breaks up during use. It has no aroma or taste.

buying and storing
It is sold between sheets of tissue paper usually in boxes. Each sheet contains so little silver that it is not prohibitively expensive. Gold foil is also available. Both have a shelf life of many years.

culinary uses
Edible silver foil is used only as a garnish. It embellishes sweets rich biryanis meat curries and kababs. Carefully lift off a sheet of silver foil along with its lower sheet of tissue paper. Then turn it over on top of the prepared dish so that the foil sticks to the food. Bits will remain on the paper which can be pressed on the food similarly. It is nearly impossible to stick on a uniform coating of silver foil.

It's is traditionally used on barfi:

almond barfi (badam barfi)
kaju barfu (cashew barfi)
pista barfi (pistachio barfi)

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 7:56 pm and is filed under sterling silver. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.