But doesn't floating mean they're open to air? That can let mold or bad stuff grow on top. I've ruined whole jars when my pickles didn't stay under the brine. Using weights just makes sure they're fully covered and fine. Yours might taste okay now, but why take the chance?

Totally feel you on family myths being writing fuel. My grandma's stories about our town were wild, I've turned like three of them into weird little flash fiction pieces. Those old tales just hit different.

Yeah, learned that the hard way helping a friend redo a dresser. We put on a second coat of polyurethane before the first was fully set, and the whole thing got this weird fuzzy texture. Had to strip it back to bare wood and start over, which added like two full weekends to the project. Never making that time crunch mistake again.

Sometimes you gotta go for it, test or no test.

My trick is measuring the salt exactly with a kitchen scale. Too little and things get funky, too much and they're inedible. Grandma's jar works fine if that ratio is locked in.