Bitterness in cheese: A review

Bitterness, the necessary consequence of proteolysis, has been under investigation from different perspectives. This review attempts to give more up-to-date information on the definition of some principal aspects, the relationship between the proteolytic activity and bitter peptide accumulation in cheese, and methods of isolation and detection of bitter peptides. Further knowledge on the physicochemical properties of bitter peptides in cheese as well as in synthetic peptides and the possible control methods for bitterness are discussed. Particular interest in using some strains of lactobacilli or their enzymes as an adjunct in accelerated ripened cheese (ARC) and enzyme-modified cheese (EMC) without bitterness is also described in detail.