Some people don't like LED control panels because one panel controls all burners. Viking also has a pretty cool looking induction cooktop that uses knobs instead of LED controls. When I looked at this cooktop a few years ago, you could only put four pans on the cooktop even though it was 36 inches. Thermidor has a really beautiful cooktop where you can place the pans anywhere on the surface - the whole cooktop is like one big burner. There are some pretty sexy models out there, though.

I love both of them and haven't had any performance problems in the three years that we've had them. In our homes I have a 36 inch Bosch cooktop and a 30 inch KitchenAid cooktop. I'm a bit of a skinflint, so I didn't go for the very high-end brands. I have not noticed any increase in my electric bill since changing to induction. Induction is very energy-efficient - i've read that it's 80% more efficient than gas. The 36 inch cooktop (which is plenty big for me, and I'm an avid cook) almost disappears into the countertop, which I like because the kitchen faces out into the dining and living rooms. In one of our homes we have a very modern kitchen with high-gloss white cabinets and honed black granite countertops.

You can remove anything that gets stuck onto the cooktop with ceramic cooktop cream cleaner. Regular dish soap and a soft dishcloth are usually all you need.

Induction cooktops are handsome and easy to clean. To me, induction has a slight advantage over gas because you can boil water very quickly and induction can hold a very low simmer. I switched to induction once I was satisfied that induction and gas are virtually indistinguishable in the way they cook. I cooked on gas for more than 20 years and loved it. My husband and I have two homes, and we have induction in each home.

Ornatrix stuck in demo mode