A woman at the farmers’ market leaned across the display of tomatoes at our produce stand and hefted a paper bag bulging with tomatoes into my open hands.

“You didn’t tell me these things were addictive when I got some last week. I’ve just got to get more,” she whispered, almost giddy, eager for her next fix of summer tomatoes.

“I know it. Welcome to the club. Aren’t they incredible?” I replied. At the farm I work on, we grow tomatoes with names like Green Zebra (noted for its tangy flavor and unique green color when ripe), Zapotec Pleated (a Oaxacan variety that has people coming up to our stand, picking up the three-quarter pound beauties, and asking, “Is this really a tomato?”), Doctor Wyche’s Yellow (named after the circus owner who bred the variety and fertilized his plants with elephant manure) and Marvel Stripe (a multi-color beefsteak in hues of red, orange, and yellow). The names of these varieties suggest something quite different than do the red slicers, red romas or cluster tomatoes you can pick up any time of year in your nearby generic supermarket. They refer to lineage, history and seasonality.

These tomatoes, the ones the woman confessed her love for at the market, are heirlooms. That word might ring a bell. Oh yeah…those fancy ones…the ones that cost more. But heirlooms mean more than emptying out your wallet. The word “heirloom” refers to breeds whose seeds have literally been passed down through generations. According to Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit that collects and sells heirloom seed, heirlooms are “the result of thousands of years of adaptation and selection in diverse ecological niches around the world. Each variety is genetically unique and has developed resistances to the diseases and pests with which it evolved.” This makes them unusual compared to most of what we eat: industrialized hybrid and genetically engineered crops, where genes are selected for maximum production, uniformity, cross-country shipping and overall efficiency which often put flavor and variety on the backseat.

Heirloom lineage is often rooted in specific places, flavors and colors. Heirloom tomatoes cannot easily be grown on a large scale because they do not make a uniform product. They are, therefore, a summer treat usually grown somewhere nearby: in a neighbor’s backyard or on a farm down the road: and savored religiously for a few months every year.

To enjoy heirloom tomatoes, don’t try and dress ’em up. My advice is, keep it simple. Appreciate their natural, unique flavors raw and unmasked. Pick an array of colors of heirlooms, slice them into quarter-inch thick rounds and arrange them in a spiral shape on a plate, alternating colors.

Drizzle a spoonful of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Try adding oregano or basil over the top, preferably fresh. If you have the time, slide some slices of fresh mozzarella in between the tomatoes, and you’ve got yourself an Italian Insalata Caprese. So hurry up and get some heirloom tomatoes soon before fall hits hard and it’s time to revert back to the supermarket. But remember, they are addictive.