A flavouring consumed to sharpen (9)

I believe the answer is:

acuminate

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sharpen' is the definition.
(acuminating is a kind of sharpening)

'a flavouring consumed' is the wordplay.
'flavouring' becomes 'cumin' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'consumed' becomes 'ate' (to eat is to consume food).
'a'+'cumin'+'ate'='ACUMINATE'

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app