Sweet or not, it can be golden (4)
I believe the answer is:
corn
'sweet' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both things that one consumes for nourishment as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'or not it can be golden' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'or' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for corn that I've seen before include "Trite jokes" , "Cereal crop; callus" , "Hard thickening of the skin on a toe" , "Grain on a toe?" , "Grain - thick skin" .)