Starters of pecorino, edam, preserves and nuts (6)

I believe the answer is:

pecans

'nuts' is the definition.
(pecan is a kind of nut)

'starters of pecorino edam preserves' is the wordplay.
'starters of' indicates taking the first letters.
'preserves' becomes 'cans' (canning is a kind of preserving).
The first letters of 'pecorino edam' is 'pe'.
'pe'+'cans'='PECANS'

'and' is the link.

(Another definition for pecans that I've seen is " nuts".)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times (Crosaire) and the Irish Times.

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