How long each dried fruit actually keeps
"Dried" doesn't mean "keeps forever" — moisture content varies a lot across dried fruit, and that's the single biggest factor in how long each one lasts once you open the bag.
Dates sit at the high-moisture end. A soft Medjool or Mariami will start fermenting at room temperature within two to three weeks once opened; sealed in the fridge, that stretches to several months. Drier styles like Zahedi last noticeably longer unrefrigerated — this guide to choosing Zahedi dates covers what to look for if long shelf life matters more to you than softness. For a full storage breakdown across all date types, this storage guide goes into freezer timelines and container choices in more detail.
Raisins are near the opposite end — low moisture means an opened bag can sit in a sealed container at room temperature for months without real change, as long as humidity stays out.
Dried apricots fall in between. Sulfured ones (the bright orange kind) last longer than unsulfured brown apricots, which tend to harden within a few weeks if left uncovered. Once hardened they're not spoiled, just less pleasant to eat plain — still fine chopped into cooking.
Figs are trickiest to judge by eye. The white bloom that develops on the surface over time is crystallised sugar, not mould, but distinguishing the two matters — sugar bloom is dry and even, mould is fuzzy and patchy. When in doubt, don't eat it.
Prunes hold moisture the longest of the group and are the most forgiving to store loosely, but that same moisture means they're also the quickest to develop actual mould if kept somewhere humid rather than sealed.
The general rule across all five: the softer and higher-moisture the fruit, the shorter its safe window once opened, and the more it benefits from the fridge rather than a cupboard. If dates are your main stock item, matching storage to variety — not treating every date the same — is the difference between fruit that lasts the season and fruit you're throwing out early.