Halva popularly made from sunflower seeds or peanuts. In Republic of Macedonia, ALVA (, "alva") refers to a sweet which comes in a few varieties. Alva made from tahini (sesame or sunflower) (Таан алва) is most used in Macedonia. Most popular is the alva from Negotino and Super Alva from Skopje. Alva from semolina (алва од гриз) is made only at home. Izmirska halva (Измирска алва) brought back from Izmir Turkey, of which large areas are populated by Macedonians, is a chocolate type of alva made from flour, cocoa, sugar and peanuts. This alva is also made at home. Alva is
Red bean paste possible to remove the husk by sieving after cooking, but before sweetening, resulting in a red paste that is smoother and more homogeneous. In Japanese, a number of names are used to refer to red bean paste; these include , , and . Strictly speaking, the term "an" can refer to almost any sweet, edible, mashed paste, with referring specifically to the paste made with red beans, although without qualifiers red beans are assumed. Other common forms of "an" include , made from navy or other white beans, green beans, and , made from chestnuts. Similarly, the Chinese term "dòushā"