Indonesia is the fourth largest sweet potato producing country in the world. However, the number of sweet potato utilization is still non optimal. One of the most popular sweet potato cultivars is Cilembu sweet potato. Velva is a frozen dessert which is made from mashed fruit (puree) with addition of water and sucrose. Fat content in velva is much lower than the ice cream, it is suitable to be consumed by vegetarian and those who are on low-fat diet. The velva making process may serve as an alternative of sweet potato utilization and will increase its economic value. One of the factors that affects the texture of velva is the type and amount of stabilizers used. This research aims to determine the optimal amount of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose(CMC) to yield Cilembu sweet potato velva with good characteristics and organoleptic properties of the panelists preferences. The method used is the experimental method with completely randomized design (CRD) consisted of 6 treatments of CMC addition (0.00%, 0.20%, 0.40%, 0.60%, 0.80%, and 1.00%) and replicated 4 times. The final results showed that the sweet potato velva with addition of 0.60% CMC was the best treatment. The velva has rate of melting 712.50 seconds, overrun 19.69 %, and the amount of total soluble solids 27obrix. This velva has qualified the standard of rate of melting, according to Arbuckle and Marshall (1996) the ice cream’s rate of melting in 20oC is 10-15 minutes.
Keywords: velva; sweet potato; CMC; characteristics