| BLACKPEPPER | Seeds of the plant Piper nigrum, commonly ground or crushed and used as a spice (5,6) |
| PEPPER | Woody climbing plant, Piper nigrum (6) |
| CARDAMOM | Dry fruits and seeds, commonly ground, and popular in South Asian curries and in Scandinavian pastries |
| BISCUIT | Pottery or porcelain that has been fired but not glazed; a food that can be crushed and used as the base of a cheesecake; or, a pale brownish colour (7) |
| THISTLEDOWN | Clock-like tuft of seeds of the plant used as the national emblem of Scotland; a favourite food of g |
| BETEL | Asian climbing plant, Piper betle, whose leaves are chewed as a narcotic (5) |
| STRYCHNINE | Toxic crystalline alkaloid obtained from the seeds of the plant nux vomica, formerly used medically as a stimulant (10) |
| LENTIL | Seeds of the plant Lens culinaris, used in soups, stews etc. (6) |
| WHITEPEPPER | Seasoning creating by grinding the seed of the ripe fruit of Piper nigrum, with the thin, darker-coloured skin (flesh) of the fruit removed (5,6) |
| PEPPERCORNS | Seeds of the Piperaceae vine a€“ also used to describe rents of nominal value (11) |
| ALLBROKENUP | Emotionally crushed, and an apt description of the circled elements in this puzzle? |
| PEA | A family of plants including the garden Pisum sativum; a seed of the latter, eaten as a vegetable or blown through a shooter; or, a tiny cob of coal, coffee berry, roe of salmon or stone, when akin to |
| TABLETENNIS | Sport's pills? Nine crushed and swallowed (5,6) |
| MASH | Malt mixed with hot water to form wort; a warm feed of bran or meal for cattle/horses; a brew of tea; a bungle or muddle; an engoument or crush; or, crushed potatoes, aka champ (4) |
| CONKERS | Nut-like fruits or seeds of the horse chestnut used in a traditional playground game of the same name that formerly used snail shells (7) |
| LINSEED | Seeds of the flax plant used as a source of oil (7) |
| NIBS | The writing tips of fountain pens; or, shelled, crushed and roasted cacao (cocoa) or coffee beans (4) |
| CRABAPPLE | Comtesse de Paris, Gorgeous or Sugar Tyme, a garden, orchard, or hedgerow tree in the genus Malus with pectin-rich fruits used to set jelly or crushed for verjuice (4-5) |
| DIGESTIVE | Variety of biscuit eaten with a cup of tea or crushed for a cheesecake base (9) |
| NUTMEG | Name the hard, aromatic seed of the fruit of an E Indian tree, used as a spice (6) |
