Many are fond of a bit of garlic (5)
I believe the answer is:
clove
'a bit of garlic' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'many are fond' is the wordplay.
'many' becomes 'c' (C is the Roman numeral for l00).
'are fond' becomes 'love' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'c'+'love'='CLOVE'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for clove that I've seen before include "Payment for hostage" , "Spicy bud - section of garlic" , "Garlic segment" , "Spice, used whole or ground" , "Cut" .)