If you've been to McDonald's while visiting other countries, you know that things can be a little different. McDonald's Japan, for example, has two "new" burgers—probably the likes of which you've never seen. That is, unless you've been to Japan. In winter.
These are the "Gracoro Burgers", with "gracoro" ("gurakoro" or グラコロ) being short for "gratin" (グラタン) and "korokke" (コロッケ). The korokke is Japan's take on the croquette—if you are familiar with that dish.
So instead of a meat patty, the Gracoro Burger has a creamy gratin korokke filled with white sauce, shrimp, and macaroni. Here is a cross section, courtesy of the Japanese internet:
The joke in the above image is that the entire burger, save for the cabbage and the shrimp, has wheat flour in it. So the buns, the breadcrumbs, the white sauce , and the macaroni all have flour ("komugiko" or 小麦粉). As website Byoukan Sunday points out, Gracoro Burger fans probably don't care that they're essentially eating a big, delicious pile of wheat flour. Yum!
These burgers aren't exactly "new". They're old favorites. Since 1993, the Gracoro Burger has been offered only during the winter months, and because of that, it is pretty much the equivalent of the McRib in that there is a lot of burger fandom surrounding the Gracoro. Burger fans get excited about it in the same way that Americans get jazzed when the McRib goes back on sale.
Last year's Gracoro had a tomato sauce version, which freaked out many Gracoro connoisseurs, myself included. As IT Media points out, this year, there's a Gracoro covered in a demi-glace sauce and cheddar cheese. There isn't wheat flour in processed cheese, is there?
(FYI: "Gracoro" is the official English spelling per McDonald's Japan. Back in 2008, it was "gurakoro", but then changed in 2009.)
マクドナルドに冬の定番「グラコロ」参上！ 新登場の「デミチーズグラコロ」も [IT Media]