Abstract: An improved heating system for providing a faster and more efficient method of cooking or heating the contents of a container such as cookware where the container or cookware is placed on a heating surface such as a burner or stove, which includes a skirt for surrounding the exterior of a container for defining a heat capture and insulating region between the skirt and the exterior of the container for trapping heat from the heating surface in the insulating region and for reducing heat transference from the exterior walls of the container to the atmosphere. In another embodiment, the present system includes a container having an integrated skirt for defining an insulating region between the skirt and the exterior of the container for trapping heat from the heating surface in the insulating region and for reducing heat transference from the exterior walls of the container to the atmosphere.