Where to Start with Jonas Cramby
Jonas Cramby is a Swedish journalist and food writer who approaches cooking through travel and obsession. He picks a cuisine, immerses himself in it, and writes a cookbook that captures both the techniques and the culture. His books on Texas BBQ, Tex-Mex, Korean grilling, and Mexican street food have made him one of Sweden’s most popular food writers. His style is informal and enthusiastic, and his recipes are rigorously tested for the home kitchen.
Start here
Taco Loco
Jonas Cramby · 160 pages · 2018 · Easy
Themes: Mexican cuisine, street food, tacos, tortillas, beginner-friendly
A compact, vibrant cookbook that brings Mexican street food into your home kitchen. Jonas Cramby takes the reader through Mexico’s street stalls and markets and shows how to recreate the classics from scratch, from handmade tortillas to slow-cooked meats and fresh salsas.
Why Start Here
This is Cramby at his best: focused, practical, and genuinely excited about the food. The book starts where it should, with how to make real tortillas from scratch and the essential salsas that underpin everything Mexican. From there it builds through tacos in every variation, antojitos, ceviches, and even sweets and drinks.
The recipes are well-tested and written with an encouraging, relaxed tone. Cramby is practical about ingredients, and most of what you need is available at a well-stocked grocery store. At 160 pages, it never overwhelms. You can read it in an evening and start cooking the next day.
What to Expect
A slim, beautifully photographed cookbook designed for people who want to start cooking rather than reading about cooking. The difficulty is low to moderate, and most recipes can be made in under an hour. This is an excellent entry point into Mexican cooking and a good representative of Cramby’s travel-driven approach to food writing.
Alternatives
Jonas Cramby · 176 pages · 2019 · Easy
Jonas Cramby explores the techniques, philosophy, and recipes behind Korean and Japanese grilling in this compact, enthusiastic guide. The book covers everything from bulgogi and galbi to yakitori and yakiniku, with practical advice on how to cut meat, source ingredients, and choose the right tabletop grill.
Why Consider This One
Cramby’s strength is distilling an entire grilling tradition into something approachable. The Korean half of the book covers the essential marinades for bulgogi and galbi, the art of building a ssam spread, and recipes for kimchi, kkakdugi, and Korean fried chicken. The Japanese half adds yakitori skewers, teriyaki, and izakaya-style bar snacks. Together they make a compelling case that the best grilling in the world happens in East Asia.
At 176 pages, the book is concise. Cramby focuses on what matters: the key sauces, the correct technique, and the accompaniments that transform grilled meat into a meal. His writing is travel-driven and informal, reflecting trips to Seoul and Tokyo where he ate his way through the best grill restaurants he could find.
What to Expect
A colorful 176-page hardcover split between Korean and Japanese grilling. Recipes are approachable and most can be made without specialty equipment, though Cramby recommends a tabletop grill for the full experience. The ingredient lists are adapted for Western supermarkets, with clear notes on where to find Korean and Japanese staples.