To look very soft hearted can be sweet (6)
I believe the answer is:
pepper
'be sweet' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both things that one consumes for nourishment as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'to look very soft hearted' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'soft' could be 'pp' (musical abbreviation for pianissimo) and 'pp' is located in the answer.
'look' could be 'peer' (to peer at something is to look at it) and 'peer' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'can' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pepper that I've seen before include "Pungent seasoning and vegetable" , "Riddle" , "hit by gunshot" , "Pelt" , "Condiment - discharge shot liberally" .)