Summary -Bitterness, a f1avour defect liable to be present in dairy products, is due to the accumulation of bitter-tasting peptides. These peptides are rich in hydrophobie amino acids and are formed by the action of proteolytic enzymes on casein. Many studies report the isolation, identification, and characterisation of bitter peptides from cheese and casein hydrolysates, and even their synthesis. This has been done in arder ta determine the structure of peptides, and also to elucidate the roles of different proteolytic enzyme systems in the development of bitterness, the exact nature of which is still hypothetical. Although bitterness has to be accepted as a necessary consequence of proteolysis, it can be mitigated by masking, removal, or prevention.bitterness 1 cheese 1 casein hydrolysate 1 peptide 1 hydrophobicity Résumé -L'amertume dans les produits laitiers. Il. Une revue de la littérature sur la nature des peptides amers issus de la protéolyse des caséines et concernant leur formation, isolement, identification, structure, camouflage et inhibition.