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Severin produce a series of food processors, including the KM3888, within a larger range of home and kitchen items. This model seemed to fit my requirements but there was little information or comparisons available.

Severin started as a small business in 1892 before expanding into a major manufacturer through Europe and Asia. The company started producing electrical appliances after 1951. In 2006 Marketeer (London) Ltd. (who, needless to say, are located in Bristol) took over the distribution of Severin electrical appliances in the UK.

I contacted Marketeer (London) Ltd. who were very helpful and provided answers to all my questions. As a consequence I ordered the KM3888.

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The number 3888 refers, I believe, to the kit that comes with the processor. This comprised a flat beater, balloon whisk, dough hook, mincer, blender, grater and pasta attachments.
When I received the processor, I was immediately impressed with the quality of the manufacture and the care taken in the design. The processor body is a solid metal die-cast unit and feels well engineered, everything fits exactly and works with ease. The 800 W motor is controlled by a rotary knob with 10 speed markings and a Pulse position. The speed markings are used in the Instruction Manual to recommend suitable speeds for the attachments.

For the main mixing function, the bowl is locked into the base of the processor and the beaters connect through a bayonet style pin and are held in place by a spring. Both the flat beater and the dough hook are treated with a Teflon material which means they do not hold the mixtures when in operation and are very easy to clean. The bowl itself has an almost seamless base which makes cleaning fast and easy. Ease of cleaning is a feature of this processor.

The blender has a 1.25 ltr capacity, the goblet is made of glass and the blades are strengthened to crush ice. It looks quite narrow but the design will reduce clogging and speed the blending process. The base and blades unscrew from the goblet to facilitate easy cleaning.

The drive for the blender is under a small plastic cover at the rear of the processor body.

The three other attachments fit on the front of the machine with the drive being covered by a cap held closed by a spring. When the attachments are fitted, a pin positively locates them in place.

The mincer is all metal construction and is supplied with two mincer disks and a pastry extruder attachment. (this seems to be a common extra with continental machines) It comes with a loose fitting feeder tray, a collection bowl and a spanner to assist in tightening or removing the locking ring. The feeder chute looks a little narrow and it is recommended that any meat is cut into 3 cm cubes before mincing but, I feel, that the manufacturers are trying to ensure that the mincer does not become overloaded if the meat is tough. Again the mincer can be stripped for cleaning in one easy action.

The grater is supplied with four conical cutters. There are two slicing blades, one thick and one thin, a shredding blade and a grating blade. The feeder chute is wide and would take quite large vegetables easily. Unscrewing the locking ring allows the grater to be stripped for cleaning.

The pasta attachment is very like the mincer in design but has six disks with shaped openings to extrude the pasta. The manufacturers have supplied a pasta recipe in the instructions, presumably, to ensure that the right consistency of dough is used for the extruder to work without problem. A cleaning tool is supplied to clear the tiny slots and holes.

I have had the KM3888 for just under a week and, to date, have made bread, scones, fish cakes and shredded carrot. The processor worked perfectly in every case. The speed control required a bit of getting used to as, I suspect, it controls circuitry in the machine to give a constant speed whatever the load, so there can be a lag between turning the dial and the speed of the motor changing.

There is nothing fancy about the KM3888. It is a smart, workmanlike piece of equipment which does its job well. It does not come with a vast array of attachments but is supplied with the most frequently used items. (not sure about the pasta attachment). It comes with a two year guarantee and it is priced, from the distributor, at £278