Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is an anionic polysaccharide used mainly as stabilizer and thickener agent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of CMC concentration on viscoelasticity of dairy and aqueous model systems through the analysis of creep and recovery tests. The viscoelastic properties of different concentrations of CMC (0.75, 1.00, 1.25, and 1.50% w/w) in two milk systems (skimmed milk and whole milk) were compared with those of the same concentration of biopolymer in aqueous solution. Creep curves were fitted to a six parameter mechanical model (Burger + Kelvin-Voigt), whereas an empirical equation was used for recovery. The creep and recovery properties of samples were clearly affected by both the type of dispersing media and the CMC concentration. The whole-milk system was more elastic than both the biopolymer (CMC) aqueous solution and the skimmed-milk sample, indicating that in whole-milk samples some new interactions could take place between macromolecules. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 1626-1632, 2009