Cooks fruit in old vessel (9)
I believe the answer is:
steamship
'old vessel' is the definition.
'steamship' can be an answer for 'vessel' (steamship is a kind of vessel). I'm unsure of the 'old' bit.
'cooks fruit' is the wordplay.
'cooks' becomes 'steams' (steaming is a kind of cooking).
'fruit' becomes 'hip' (the fruit of a rose).
'steams'+'hip'='STEAMSHIP'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for steamship that I've seen before include "Queen Elizabeth, for one?" , "Tramp, say" , "Vessel with funnels" , "What SS stands for" , "I pass them (anag) - vessel" .)