TOO DRY?

QA neighbour has kindly given me a reasonably large quantity of dried fruit in preparation for Christmas delights. I am unsure about some of it. Can you recommend a good way of telling if it’s old stock, beside the sell-by date, and the best way of storing it. This is not strictly sporting related but the results will be eaten by those who partake in it.

KA, by email

ACurrants should be blue-black in colour with a slight greyish bloom; raisins should be pale in colour, a good size and juicy looking. If the fruit is dry and sugary then it is probably old stock. An ideal way to store dried fruit is in glass jars rather than tins as the acid content can cause them to corrode.