My grandmother too - we weren’t sure she could write, she left school either 1st or 3rd grade (she was an orphan by then).
She tested the heat of the oven by sticking her hand in there - must have worked b/c she made the best biscuits on earth, browned perfectly.
Ditto for mother-in-law, Italian. Made up her own spice mixtures because she didn’t like the store-bought ones.
Lost arts, my Mom said sprinkle water over the pan, if it dances, the pan is ready