fyld

Fyld is a Danish noun meaning filling or stuffing, used to describe the mixture placed inside a pastry, dish, or container. The word is related to the Danish verb fylde, to fill, and has cognates in other Scandinavian languages. In everyday cooking, fyld can be sweet or savory and is a central element in many Danish and broader Nordic culinary traditions.

In baking and pastry, fyld refers to the substance inside items such as pies, tarts, and filled pastries. Common examples include frugtfyld (fruit filling) made from cooked fruit and sugar, cremet fyld (creamy custard or cream), and syltetøjfyld (jam filling). Desserts may also use fillings such as marzipan, chocolate, or nuts, sometimes combined with pastry dough and glaze.

In savory cooking, fyld denotes the stuffing used for meats, vegetables, dumplings, and pastries. Typical applications include fyldt peber (stuffed peppers), fyldte dumplings, and other stuffed dishes where the mixture may include meat, cheese, grains, vegetables, and seasonings. Preparing fyld often requires balancing moisture, fat, and flavor to achieve a cohesive center without making the surrounding crust or dough soggy.

The concept is widely used across Scandinavian cuisines, with cognate terms in Norwegian (fyld) and Swedish (fyll) as well. In modern cooking, fyld also appears in recipe labeling and product descriptions to indicate the edible center of a filled item, regardless of whether the filling is sweet or savory.