I have had an Elan gas cooktop ( a modern looking cooktop with one 18,500 BTU burner and a long grill or fish poacher burner in the middle)and three other burners of varying power. The 18,500 BTU burner is brute force, but hard to control to not get scorch marks on the pan. To simmer you really have to go to one of two lower powered gas burners. I've been cooking on my neighbors Gaggenau 36" new induction cooktop. It has a monster 3,600 BTU 11" center that can be boosted to 4,400 BTU. I can get every bit as good a sear on a NY Strip as any powerful gas burner--if not better--as the heat is evenly spread on the pan. It has 17 levels on each burner and on the low 1,400 BTU the levels of simmer are amazing. You never have to worry about the flame going out. And clean up is a breeze. What is even more amazing is that it can be gotten for about $2,500. It comes in every color as long as you choose black:-) Butit does give you the option of stainless rim or not, for those that like flush mounting. I like the knob twist too. I am waiting to try the GE Monogram or Profile that also is a powerhouse and comes out in September. It has an 11" 3,700 BTU center and an 8" 3,200 BTU on the front right. Two 2,500's and a 1,800. It comes in black and a whitish color and will list around $2,600-$2,700. And it has 19 levels on each burner. This should be a huge winner for G-E is it is made well. As I'm redoing my kitchen I'll have to make sure the elctrician puts in a 50 amp fuse. I used to cook professionally when younger and I am sold on induction. Other than not being able to toast bread over a gas flame or hold a few veggies with tongs over a flame, everything it does is at least as good if not better. And the cleanup is such a breeze compared to gas there is no competition. Greg

I'll just put in my Le Creuset experience for future searcher/readers. Bought a set 30 years ago; Large Dutch Oven, Small/Med Dutch Oven, Medium soup pan, small soup pan, both with the wooden handles, med and small fry pan. Great stuff, love it and used reliably for many years...fast forward I burnt up the med soup pan (and btw the wooden handles were never a problem since I dont put things in the oven and they stayed fine over the years) making sugar water. The bottom had become a little rough over the years and so could not be salvaged - sent it in and got back one of the new all metal sauce pans. I liked the size and weight and shape and handle of my OLD pan better, plus for a sauce pan this seems to get a ring of hot spot on the bottom (I do cook on higher heat than I should or maybe its my elec stove?) anyway this is heavier, much longer handle, don't like or use it as much just due to the shape/weight issue. Then I do the same thing with the small soup pan. Send it in, replacement comes with the new black phrenolic handle, no big deal but they've changed the shape and size, its narrower at the bottom and taller and weighs more. I liked my old one better. So while I still think Le Creuset is the best enameled cookware, and perhaps just plain the best cookware with the no kidding greatest lifetime guarentee (I put in a letter saying I ruined it and that I'd be happy to buy a discounted replacement), I don't like their revamped shape and style of their soup/saucier pots. I don't know why they just didn't change the handles from wood to the black ovenproof stuff. If I could figure out how to make my old Paypal acct work I think I'd try buying the old style on eBay. (But you never know what people cooked in them and that creeps me out a little:)

I have just checked into this forum for the first time as I am not a 'real' cook. About 30 years ago I bought a LC kit at a department and have just burned the pot with the wooden handle and the slightly bigger one without the handle (sorry I don' know sizes). I am looking to replace them and had looked at ebay and found some LC (often from England for some reason) but got curious about what else was out there. Now I don't know about the steam dimples and all that but I do like the idea of lighter weight, not less quality. My old wrists are starting to get arthritic and I find myself picking items up in stores and thinking "oh that's too heavy". So.....any comments based on that, or buying used LC on ebay?

>>>"Is there a single burner induction brand recommended to test it out?"<<< We've had numbers of threads here on this subject over the years. However, before you dive into those dicussions, I'd suggest starting with this blog at CenturyLife.org to get a handle on aspects and features you might consider when trying to sort through the many dozens of brands and models in the market. Also, for further research, it may help to know that the "single burner units" you are looking for are often referred to as "Portable Induction Cooktops" (sometimes abbreviated as "PIC") and mostly run on regular 120v household current. This is in contrast to the one and two burner built-in induction units which are sometimes called "dominoes" and require a 240v circuit. After you've got a handle on what to look for, you might plow through past threads here such as [this one which ran for years[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/portable-induction-cooktop-and-cookware-dsvw-vd~2324992) and was still getting posts a few months ago.