Hey everyone, I posted this question, well, a variation of it, on the veggie forum, but learned from digdirt that this is the place to talk about canning and pickling, so I am gonna toss it in here too.

Here's my scenario: I am trying out some pickling for the first time, and have been doing my research, which includes reading MANY sources, taking the most consideration from the official ones like the USDA and the other big one for home canners. Anyway, I pickled some jalapeno rings this weekend, following the recipes very closely, only leaving out things like adding an onion slice. The vinegar to water ratio is safe, as the recipe calls for 7 1/2 cups vinegar to 1 1/2 cup water; why such odd numbers, I dunno, but safe none-the-less. Anyway, the recipe calls for 1/2" of headspace, which I did, although I misjudged on a couple of half pint jars, which are more like 5/8" to 3/4". Does that pose a significant risk at all? Also, the pepper rings unpacked themselves during processing, and have floated to the top, with some being exposed. I'd like to know if anyone sees an issue with that, especially if, due to the shape of the pepper rings, they never settle back down to where they re-submerge.

Sorry to the couple of people who responded to this one before, but all the reading I have been doing is making me paranoid that something is going to go wrong. I'm the type who'll lose sleep at night over it. Thank you ahead of time.

Joe