Two potato cultivars representing extremes with regard to the texture of the cooked product were divided into subcategories based on size and dry matter (DM) content. The effects of the preheating temperature and time on both the instrumentally determined firmness and the sensory-perceived firmness were measured and compared. Increasing the preheating time at 60 degrees C followed by cooking resulted in greater force required to fracture the tissue, an increase in perceived firmness, and a less mashable product. A principal component analysis showed that with higher DM contents of the potato samples, preheating resulted in a larger force required to fracture the tissue and a firmer product. The changes in fracture force were not linearly related with the changes in perceived firmness. The effects of preheating on the pectin methylesterase (PME) activity, the enzyme assumed to be responsible for the firming effect upon preheating, showed that the activity of this enzyme remained rather constant during preheating at 60 degrees C for 1 h. Preheating at 78 degrees C for 10 min abolished virtually all PME activity. To obtain insight into the consequences of preheating and preheating followed by steam cooking on the yield and composition of the cell wall material (CWM) of potatoes, a cell wall isolation followed by a pectin fractionation study was performed. Attention was also paid to the consequences of the processing conditions applied on the chemical composition of the CWM and the sequentially extracted pectic fractions. Preheating resulted in an increase in yield of the CWM of cooked potatoes and, as a consequence, all of the sequentially extracted fractions, including the residue. Preheating did not have a pronounced effect on the composition of the pectin of the sequentially extracted fractions. This altogether strongly indicates that preheating causes a PME-based firming effect, resulting in an decrease in pectin degradation and, as a consequence, a larger yield of CWM. It seems reasonable to assume that this increase in amount of CWM results in a firmer texture. The contribution of starch-based degradation products to the texture after preheating can, however, not be excluded.