Cast iron cookware is back. Or maybe it never left. If your head is filling with images of chuck wagons full of dangling pots amidst a herd of grazing cattle, well, cowboy, you've been on the range a little too long. Many cast iron pots and pans are as collectible as they are useful. Start thinking about flapjacks instead and get your head around this.

The fact is that cast iron cooking vessels go back long before the Lone Ranger. There is evidence of cast iron being used in food preparation as early as the third century. It first appeared in China and over the centuries slowly spread worldwide. By the time Columbus set sail, such pots and pans could be found in kitchens throughout Europe.

Cast iron is essentially a mixture of iron, steel and a few chemicals all mixed together and then heated past the melting point. From there the glop is poured into a mold and allowed to cool. In 1707, Abraham Darby's development of the sand casting technique allowed for the beginnings of mass production, and within a century cast iron cookware could be found nearly everywhere.

From a food preparation standpoint, what's great about the stuff is several-fold. First, it gathers and retains heat evenly and more effectively than almost any other material. There's a reason why tandoori chicken and sizzling fajitas are almost always served up in cast iron pans.

Second, there are no toxic emissions or other health concerns that accompany some types of non-stick coatings. Yes, you'll have to use a little oil or butter to keep whatever you're cooking from attaching itself to the bottom of your pan, but a little seasoning will usually fix that.

And third, cast iron will last virtually forever and keep its good looks with a minimum of care. We humanoids should be so lucky.

Antique American cast iron can still be found today and works every bit as well as when first out of the sand. Founded at the end of the Civil war, the Griswold Company was the patriarch of American cast iron firms, their products often regarded as highly coveted family heirlooms.

The Griswold clan included versatile men with accomplishments in politics and real estate as well as manufacturing. Their business flourished for more than 90 years until being sold in the 1950s to arch-competitor Wagner. That firm was equally successful, pioneering aluminum cookware among other things before its eventual demise. If you find any cast iron with either of those imprints on the bottom, grab 'em.

Perhaps the last great survivor from those original makers is Lodge. This southern firm survived the years through clever innovation and remains a family business today. Their pre-seasoned cookware, introduced in 2002, paved the way for a new generation of easy-to-use cast iron that has helped renew interest in the category.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of old-schoolers out there that would sneeze at Granny's silver but fight to the death for her cast iron collection. If you're one of those, feel free to invite me over for flapjacks anytime.

Mike Rivkin and his wife, Linda, are longtime residents of Rancho Mirage. For many years, he was an award-winning catalogue publisher and has authored seven books, along with countless articles. Now, he's the owner of Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. His antiques column appears Saturdays in The Desert Sun. Want to send Mike a question about antiques? Drop him a line at info@silverfishpress.com.