Abstract: An apparatus for a cooking system with a number of electrically-operated heating elements that each define a center, and a number of heating element power control circuits that each control power flow to a respective one of the heating elements. There is a cooktop surface member located above the heating elements and defining a top surface and a front edge. There are also a number of user interface elements visible from above the top surface of the cooktop surface member and spaced from the heating elements. One of each of the user interface elements is operatively associated with a respective one of the heating elements and used to control the heating element power control circuit for such heating element.

Abstract: An induction cooking system including one or more methods or apparatus for identifying items of cookware. The identifying may include identifying whether in use, the temperature of the outside surface of the element of cookware is significantly lower than the temperature of the inside surface. The methods may include one or more of measuring impedance, communicating information by RF radiation, or measuring reactance.