Crossword Genius

Preserve with fruit covering papers for applicants (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

candidates

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

'for applicants' is the definition.
(candidate is a kind of applicant)

'preserve with fruit covering papers' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'preserve' could be 'can' (canning is a kind of preserving) and 'can' is found in the answer.
'fruit' could be 'dates' (type of fruit) and 'dates' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'di' 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 candidates that I've seen before include "those awaiting interview?" , "Entrants" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.