Old dried fruit turned black

[pastrydiva]

I have a couple of large unopened bags of dried fruit - apricots, peaches, some mixed stuff - that got lost in the back of the pantry. They have turned completely black - but oddly are still somewhat soft. I had wanted to make a dried fruit filling (for hamentaschen and tarts) out of them, but they're a bit um, scary.
Anyody know if they are still usable? I think they were initially sulfured - so I'm not sure why they blackened, unless it's due to the (extreme) age, and some weird chemical changes that went on with them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Scargod]

Garbage.

[dct]

Are you sure they were sulfured? I used to see that as a kid with the unsulfured apricots we'd get from the food co-op. They were a little scary looking, but they had good flavor and texture as a snack. I would try one and see if the taste is ok. If so, use them, but perhaps in something in which the color won't be so offputting? I think they would work well in hamentaschen--maybe disguised further with some poppy seeds?

[pastrydiva]

They were definitely sulfured. They were black as coal, but still soft , moist and puffy. When I tried one they were sort of grainy and crumbly. Really gross. I just tossed them... all 10#!