After drying-curing, do flavors intensify?

[MarkD51]

Basically simple questions I have with this post.

Let's say when making Peperoni Sticks, Coppa, Sopperasada , and such air cured-dried meats, is it common knowledge that ingredients such as spices and especially in particular, salt, intensifies upon completion from when first making? I'm assuming yes.

[Swing Swang]

What do you mean from 'first making'? Cooking up a 'prueba' to check for taste and balance on mixing will be but a pale imitation of the final product. Less salty and less concentrated, some of the aromatics might be over-expressed initially, and of course none of the funky flavours will have developed. The flavours will continue to develop throughout the life of the product, but will slow down as it dries out (although if inoculated with surface cultures the flavour will develop for longer). Eventually off-flavours will start to become apparent, even in perfectly cured products, the primary one (to my pallet) being rancidity. A tiny bit of rancidity may be acceptable, or even preferred by some.