Color-enhanced ESEM of a boiled potato. A potato tuber consists of cells with starch granules inside. Boiling gelatinized the starch and weakened the cohesion of the cells. The result is a soft and moist potato. Minute samples were excised from the cooked tuber and examined in their hydrated state using environmental SEM (ESEM) without the fixation, dehydration and gold coating required by regular SEM machines. Image width: 1280 micrometers. Bar: 200 micrometers. Magnification: 78x if the image is printed 10 cm wide.