Crossword Genius

It may be sweet to eat - or not (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pea

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

'it may be sweet to eat or not' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'it' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'it' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'pa' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pea that I've seen before include "It grows in 23 Down" , "It may climb frame" , "Leguminous vegetable" , "It grows in a pod" , "Common vegetable seed from pod" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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