Lyno, I have this great barbecue that's meant to go over the gas burner. It's a round with a grating across and two stubby wood handles called "El Asador". Very handy for roasting eggplants for Middle Eastern cooking where you want a charred outside and a gooshy inside. And peppers, etc., too. There are woks made especially for induction which are shaped much more like a traditional wok inside but have a flat bottom on the outside. Kind of a pedestal shape. As I understand it, all pots with induction compatible sides will warm up on the sides on induction. The excitation passes along the metal. A lot of pots have compatible bottoms but not sides. But as Erika said, you have to heat it up. What I haven't heard yet from someone who really woks a lot is how well standard induction (as opposed to wok specialty units) work. One thing people like about their blast furnace wok burners is that the flames and burning gases rise along the shape of the wok much like on the traditional solid fuel fires. I don't know that you can get that kind of feel in an induction wok on a standard burner. My portable is the Supentown Mr. Induction, which I got because it was really cheap and white. There are far better units for not much more money. One thing to be aware of while you're experimenting is that most built-ins run on 240V. Most countertop units plug into standard outlets. With those you won't see things like instant boiling. Rather, you'll get to try out cooking in a pot that heats rather than the burner, see how much control you have, etc. Things I learned: With gas, I would put on a cast iron pot then go get ingredients. Do that on even weakass cheapo porto induction and you'll burn your oil or whatever. Also, you can't just walk away from a big pot until you know your settings. What seems like a simmer might actually scorch. I also learned I wanted more settings for things like delicate sauces. That's at least 17, not 9 or 12. BUT, I was able to compensate on Mr. Induction by fiddling up and down with the settings. The response is instantaneous! So the more control settings are just so I have to adjust less. I made some perfectly good sauces with the thing. I don't really understand the boil water fast thing, other than it makes pasta off the shelf a quickie meal, but whatever. What's more important than the 0-60 mph, is how it handles in bumper to bumper and how hard it is to park, so to speak. So do your tests. Also find showrooms where you can use their installed gas cooktops and rangetops, and the induction units too. The biggest differences between different induction units are the controls.

Thanks so much to all who responded to my last post. I do realize that induction would be the best choice for endurance as well as performance. If I run across one at an amazing price, that's what I'll get but I'm not holding my breath. To be honest, I care less about the responsiveness and performance aspect than I do about being able to keep it clean and attractive. I've cooked on electric at a vacation home and didn't have an issue with it. It's a shame there isn't a melt resistant material (soft like a silicone bake mat) that could be placed between the cooktop and pot to help preserve the cooktop. As far as the economics and it paying off over time, I'm almost 60 so doubting I'd live long enough to see that. Amy, thanks for pointing that out, I honestly hadn't considered that. I'll check to see what the charge will be for the cutout tomorrow. I am also looking at freestanding models just for the matter of cost but the ones I like without the control panel on the back are pricey as well. I'd prefer separate but not if it's going to run an additional $600 on top of paying more for separate units. cpartist, I have to say I've got sticker shock the whole way around...lol. If it were simply a matter of a couple hundred dollars, I'd go the induction route but mostly I'm seeing twice the cost, which I simply can't justify. We've been waiting a very long time to do this and what I get will be what I'll have to marry ('til death do us part) unfortunately. Kathy, if you don't mind my asking, what did you end up with? Dan1888, thanks. Yeah, that benefit of the induction appeals to me more than the other benefits. I like shiny (unscratched, unblemished) things....hehe. mhwhetsell, Oh, I WANT an induction, I'm just very conscious of the financial situation and other things need to take priority. Would you mind my asking what brand/model you have now and if you're happy with it in other aspects? Jannicone, have fun with your new induction! Sophie, thanks for the detailed explanation. :) jwvideo, thanks for being a voice of reason.

While going from cooktop to oven isn't unheard of, it's not a common enough even that I would fret about it. We're with you on ovens. In fact, we're putting in the Bosch swinging door ovens because my wife is short and she has a hard time reaching over a normal oven door. As for single-vs-double. I had a 48" Thermador range two houses ago. I rarely used the second (smaller) oven. However, I moved into a townhouse with double ge ovens (and a ge gas cooktop) and boy I got used to that in a hurry. Yeah, I had to carry a pan to the oven to finish under the broiler or bring the pan of drippings back to the stovetop to make the gravy, but the few extra steps weren't going to kill me. So what we ended up with is the Bosch 688 cooktop and double Bosch ovens.

I no longer have an instant hot water dispenser but had one in my previous kitchen. It did not produce boiling water - it produced very hot water. I liked having it and would have one again. It's handy for many things other starting with hotter water to boil. I never used it for large quantity boiling - just a cup or two in a glass cup the microwave. Granted it's not a necessity but I used mine to make an individual cup of pour over coffee - heat to boiling in microwave in seconds vs. minutes, instant hot chocolate (no microwave heating required), quickly cleaning stuff off utensils and dishes, etc. In my case I much preferred being able to heat a quick glass cup of hot water vs. using a pan on the cook top. I think an instant hot water dispenser and an induction cook top serve two entirely different purposes. Whether or not you'd like to have an instant hot water dispenser depends on what you planned to do with it and how important that function is to you. If you were planning to use it to produce boiling water then I'd say skip it as they don't do that.