Hillbkr_comcast_net: How often are you pressure canning and what size pressure canners are you using? Are you doing production canning with huge pots with 20 to 40 quart capacities? If you are doing larger volume canning sessions, there are no induction capable substitutes. (Frankly, at that size, you pretty much have to use aluminum because ferromagnetic versions would be too heavy to lift when full.) OTOH, if you have been using one of the smaller models (say, a 10½ quart All American or 15-quart Presto), there are some good induction-capable options such as the 10 qt. models in several of Fagor's product lines lines. Fagors are set up to make it easy to vent off air as the pot comes to heat. Last time I checked, Costco.com had the 10 quart Fagor Rapida model with a canning kit and instructions for under $100. Kuhn Rikon has a 12 quart model which is very easy to use and also works for pressure canning but is very $$$. Plus, for pressure-cooking beans (and pretty much anything else), an induction-capable, stainless steel, spring-valve model can seem like a huge improvement. Not only easier to use (IMO), but also having no worries about any acidic ingredients causing "off" and metallic flavors in your beans. Frankly, if I were doing enough largish spates of production canning that would make it worthwhile to have a 20 quart or larger All American type pressure-canner, I would skip a hybrid range/cooktop. Instead, I would get a full-induction range and look into a couple of other options for running the big pressure canners during those times I needed them. One option would be using a commercial 2500 watt portable burner like the ones from Cadco. Something to consider, thugh: can you easily install a 20 amp/240v outlet in the kitchen or an alternative workspace, such as garage. The other alternative would be one of the propane-fueled portable campstoves with the stands and 30k-btu burners. These will easliy hold pots up to 14" in diameter and will get the pressure-canners to heat quickly. The brands I know of are Coleman and Camp Chef. A two burner model should be under $100. I saw a 3-burner model at Costco last week for about $149. They use the same 20 gal. propane bottles that are used for gas grills. Pull them out for canning season, fold them away when you don't need them.

Salt is hugely abrasive, as well as hard enough to scratch glass. I would take a bit of care not to set pans on top of grains of salt and them move them around. If you had a stainless surround on gas or other type of electric, it would scratch that as well. I would think it's fine to set a hot pan on your induction cooktop, but NOT over the controls. Damage is likely if you put something really hot on the control pad. I usually toss a hotpad on the cooktop before putting something hot on the burner area. I'm probably just being overly careful, but it just seemed like a good idea and I started doing it early on. Sliding a hot glass pan on a glass cooktop might cause scratches. The metal ones, perhaps not. I'm not a fussy person, but honestly, I do like my induction cooktop well enough to fuss a little bit if I need to, and sometimes I fuss a little even if it's not necessary, just to be sure. :-) Cj

i have a viking range with the electric smoothtop. They do scratch, but they are also black and do not show.I can see the small marks when i am cleaning it while its wet, but after i run my dry towel over it to dry the stove, it all dissapears. you can use it as an extension of your contertop, but just be careful. years ago, i came home from the grocery store and was in the habit of setting bags down on top of the stove when they would overflow from the counter top. this was on my old smoothtop stove and the knobs were on the top instead of on the front of the stove. i didn't realize that one of the bags of groceries had pushed down one of the knobs and that was enough to turn it on. i had burning melting plastic and whatever was in the grocery bag making a terrible mess melting and burning all over the stove. some knobs you push down on and turn to start a burner. i think my new viking is like that too. i'm not sure now, i will have to check.

I am in complete agreement with weedmeister. The originator of that tale, aiming for "old wives'" status, doesn't understand the relevant electromagnetics. Further, the magnetically susceptible layer of the pan base does not need to be flat on the cooktop, but generally within a quarter of an inch. Thin silicone pads can be used without any degradation of power transfer, and will actually help keep the glass (Ceran) cooler and hence the coil possibly cooler. I've even tested operation with an entire thick cloth hot pad as a pan shim, but can't say I proved that there was no loss in coupling efficiency. I can say that the susceptibility test circuit of the cooktop was satisfied that there was a suitable pan there, i.e., that there was sufficient coupling that power transfer would work well enough to not overheat the induction circuit.