The key is oleo saccharum, which sounds like an ingredient from a laboratory, but is really just a process that pulls essential oils from citrus using sugar.

There was slightly better food—at midday, a bowl of real soup, perhaps a slice of vegetable, and at the end of the night shift, bread with oleo.

The Lemonana uses sumac and lemon oleo — the essential oils removed from lemon peels — to create a tart and refreshing lemonade.

“One morning I went out to my truck to go to work and there were about a hundred bars of oleo surrounding my vehicle,” Mr. King said.

And a complex Mamacita Mole cocktail comprised of blanco tequila, mole grenadine, and lime oleo saccharum brings the libations to the present.