Oh man, oh man, oh man do I love dates. I just bought a pile at a roadside stand. I never seem to have a problem with them keeping. I use them as snacks on rides with walnuts or cashews. Sometimes smushed together into a sticky kind of bar, but most of the times separate. Dates are about 80 calories an ounce, so I have to watch how many I eat and those plump medjool dates really add up.