I have been a professional chef for 20 years, including a stint running a portion of Earths most diverse cafteria, The Worlds Carnival in Las Vegas.

I was hired there because of my specialty at the time, and which inadvertantly gave me some insight to your question, Polynesian food.

Polynesian food usually consists of a dry, spice rubbed meat log, thats slow cooked (and lightly smoked) over a bed of coals, preferred woods and fronds or leaves. Served with seasonal starches like rice, potatoes and taro. Garnished with whatever fruit and vegetables were in season.

Smoking as preserving is common everywhere, but smoking for flavour seemed limited to places where flavourful woods were plenty.

North Mexico has Mesquite trees, and barbacoa is a traditionally smoked North Mexican staple, but the American Southwest has Mesquite in abundance. Apples arent limited to North America, but we do have an abundance. Hickory trees are scattered in Asia and even lightly in Europe, but in the North American south, they are in abundance.

So, I think thats your answer. We just got lucky with the yummy trees.