If you have never had an heirloom tomato, you are in for a real treat. Not only are they beautiful to look at—colorful and varied in shape—they are full of subtle differences in taste. Heirloom tomatoes are, in fact, more flavorful than their industrially-grown cousins, and tend to to be sweeter and less acidic.

The rule of thumb is, for a tomato to be an heirloom the variety needs to be at least 50 years old, or it has to be associated with an area, a farm or specific family.